UCLA Football Wrap Up - Bruins Rocky Top Tough

Bruins celebrate at Neyland Stadium after their 19-15 win over Tennessee. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

There weren't a lot of reasons to believe that the Bruins could go into Knoxville and beat Tennessee. They have only won five of their last 22 games away from Pasadena. They were only 3-7-2 on the road against SEC teams. They were too young. The crowd was too big. Tennessee was too angry.

All that didn't matter as the UCLA Bruins marched into a very loud Neyland Stadium and marched out with a 19-15 win that was as ugly as it was close. Mistakes made on both sides of the ball for the Bruins didn't cost them the game this time, but they will have to cut down on those mistakes if they are to come back from their 4-8 season and compete in the Pac-10 again.

Nevertheless UCLA knew that to win they would have to rely on their defense and their special teams, and that is exactly what they did. In a game dominated by both defenses, UCLA forced four turnovers and was able to capitalize on them with Kai Forbath feild goals. Rahim Moore continued his amazing play with two more interceptions to give him five in two games and would have had a third if not for another UCLA penalty. The Bruins ended up with nine penalties for the game.

Kevin Prince was hurried, battered and ultimately bloodied by the Vols defense but he did show signs of why he was given the nod to start by coach Rick Neuhiesel. Prince completed 11 of 23 passes for 101 yards and a very important touchdown to fullback Chane Moline that tied the game at 10 before halftime. His only costly mistakes were a fumble that led to Tennessee's only touchdown and a controversial safety that allowed the Vols to pull within four with over a minute left in the game.

The defense did its job in the end with a lot of help from Vols quarterback Jonathan Crompton. With the ball in decent position and time to make a drive, he finished his forgettable game with three incompletes and a sack. He ended the game going 13 of 26 for 93 yards and 3 interceptions and a fumble.

Going forward, the Bruins have the Kansas State Wildcats coming into Pasadena next week. The Wildcats stand at 1-1 and are coming off a tough loss at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.