ARLINGTON, Texas -- It was the worst-case scenario for the 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins and their national title hopes Saturday night at AT&T Stadium.
Their Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Brett Hundley was out of the game in the first quarter with a left elbow injury and the Bruins were struggling against the Texas Longhorns.
But the loss of Hundley just opened the door for a familiar name in UCLA quarterback history to create his own memory.
It was a Jerry moment.
Sophomore Jerry Neuheisel, the son of UCLA great Rick Neuheisel, led the Bruins to a fourth-quarter touchdown that rallied them to a 20-17 victory over the Longhorns and further cemented the Neuheisel name with UCLA.
No one on the UCLA sideline doubted it could be done either after Hundley exited in the fourth quarter after landing awkwardly on his left elbow on a scramble.
"There was no Rudy moments, no Hoosier moments," UCLA head coach Jim Mora said. "Just Jerry, 'Just go do what you do.' He knew we all had confidence in him. The thing about Jerry is his team freaking loves him. They love him. They have great confidence in him. There was never any doubt."
That confidence was rewarded late when Neuheisel hit Jordan Payton for a 33-yard touchdown with three minutes remaining to bring the Bruins back from a 17-13 deficit to Texas (1-2).
Neuheisel, who threw just 13 passes as a freshman with no touchdowns, ended his day by throwing for 178 yards and two touchdowns and was carried off the field by his teammates.
It certainly wasn't the kind of day Neuheisel expected going in, as his normal duties are limited to holding on extra points. But it was one he prepared for and was ready for when Hundley couldn't go.
That doesn't mean it wasn't special for Neuheisel.
"It took until I got in the locker room and we did the fight song that it really kind of sank in," Neuheisel said. "It just kind of feels like a haze. I know tomorrow I'll be able to tell you every single play I ran and every single throw I had and every mistake I made. Right now I'm just kind of on cloud nine and enjoying the moment."
Neuheisel said he briefly talked to his dad after the game and like everyone else his father took it in stride.
"He just kind of told me I did it. You did it. It's kind of a Neuheisel thing," Jerry Neuheisel said. "I'm just blessed to be where I am."
How long he'll have to enjoy the moment remains to be seen. Hundley was off to a 4-for-4 start before he got hurt scrambling. He immediately came off the field before going down on the ground. He went to the locker room for X-rays in the second quarter and came back after halftime with his left arm (non-throwing) heavily taped.
Mora said Hundley tried to talk his way back into the game but the coaching and medical staff nixed the idea. Instead he spent the second half signaling in plays with his arm wrapped. He will have an MRI Sunday and the extent of the injury will be known.
"We just decided it was best for Brett not to play," Mora said. "He was begging to get back in there, but it wouldn't have been the right thing to do to put him back in there. We'll get back to Westwood and we'll get an MRI tomorrow and I'll be able to tell you guys what's going on from there."
UCLA was conservative with Neuheisel early but trailed 10-3 at halftime. Neuheisel's first career touchdown pass to Nate Iesse early in the third quarter tied the game. But Texas stayed close and was poised to pull off the upset after Tyrone Swoopes found John Harris for a TD from 8 yards out to put the Longhorns up 17-13 with 5:13 remaining.
All that did was set the stage for a Jerry moment, with the pass to Payton his longest of the day and his career.
It was no big deal to the Bruins.
"We all expected it," said Payton, who had four catches for 64 yards. "He comes out to practice every day and knows everything. He know the protections. He knows everything times two. When Brett unfortunately went down we had complete confidence Jerry. At halftime he came in and said 'I've been dreaming of this my whole life so why not just go out and do it.' We went out there and did it."
