Texas is on a mission for redemption this season after winning only five games a year ago. UCLA is on a mission to return to relevance under Rick Neuheisel. Both teams face each other in Pasadena on Saturday, as the Longhorns try and prove their early start is for real, while the Bruins hope to show something better than what we've seen so far.

Running the ball is at the heart of the discussion about this game. The Texas run defense was embarrassingly soft a year ago and that includes a game in Austin against this same UCLA team, when the Bruins ran over and around the 'Horns on their way to a surprise win. While UCLA hasn't looked impressive so far this year in a loss to Houston and a narrow win over San Jose State, we can't blame the running game. They've muscled up for over 200 rushing yards each game and have a 1-2 punch of Jonathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman that will test the Longhorn defense.

The Texas defense, playing without longtime coordinator Wil Muschamp, now the head coach at Florida, struggled against the run in their opener against Rice. The lowly Owls put together 130 rush yards, but Texas re-established control of the line of scrimmage in a must-win spot against BYU last Saturday. While a narrow one-point win at home doesn't suggest Texas is championship material, it had to be a big sigh of relief for the program to hold the BYU running game and quality running back J.J. Luigi to just 43 yards. If they summon that same type of effort on Saturday, they'll grab another non-conference win and keep the heat off of Mack Brown. Meanwhile, UCLA has to strengthen all other facets of its game to avoid Neuheisel's seat from getting a lot warmer.

Dan Flaherty hosts podcasts on Monday (4 ET), Wednesday (3:30 ET) and Thursday (6 ET) at www.primesportsnetwork.com to talk NFL, baseball and college football.