Peter Yoon, ESPNLosAngeles.comNov 5, 2010, 02:28 PM
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- Has covered sports in Southern California for 15 years
- Previously a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times from 1995-2008.
- Covers UCLA for ESPNLosAngeles.com
This isn't exactly what the UCLA football team had in mind, and it's an all-too-familiar feeling for some Bruins.
Heading into the homestretch, they are fighting to keep their season relevant.
With four games to play, UCLA (3-5) needs three victories to become bowl eligible and salvage some semblance of success.
The Bruins head into their game Saturday against Oregon State at the Rose Bowl trying to break free from a disappointing October performance that brought a promising season to a crashing halt.
Sound like anything you've heard before?
"Unfortunately, yes," UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin said. "This does remind me of last year."
After eight games last season, UCLA was in the exact same situation. The good news is the Bruins pulled off what they needed to, winning three of their last four, and made it to the Eagle Bank Bowl.
The bad news is UCLA is back in the same situation, having lost three consecutive games after defeating Houston, Texas and Washington State in consecutive games. Last season, UCLA lost five consecutive games after a 3-0 start.
"We can't continue to have these seasons," Franklin said. "We have to change things around."
In order to change things around this season, end their current losing streak and make the same kind of run they made last year, the Bruins need to address some glaring issues.
The two biggest are an offense that can't seem to find balance and a defense that has been giving up huge chunks of yards.
The Bruins' running attack has averaged only 76 yards per game during this losing streak after averaging 322.3 in the previous three. The passing game had a breakthrough last week, when Richard Brehaut completed touchdowns of 68 and 49 yards, but it wasn't enough without a running attack.
"We just have to get our groove back," said Franklin, who has averaged only 55.6 yards rushing over the past three games after averaging 150.6 in the three before that. "We have to have the mentality in our minds that we can't be stopped. That's all it is. I feel like we need to gain that mentality that we're unstoppable and we will be."
Meanwhile, the Bruins' defense has suffered a relapse of the tackling issues that plagued it early in the season, and as a result has given up 582 and 583 yards the past two games.
"It's tough on your ego and your pride," linebacker Sean Westgate said. "You just have to come back from it. You have no choice. It sucks getting our butts kicked, but we're close. We just have to put the nail in the coffin and finish one out."
The one thing the Bruins have going for them is that they haven't lost confidence. They are drawing upon the experience of last year, and the knowledge that it's still possible to reverse a losing trend and make something of the season.
"We have a lot of fighters on this team, and nobody is quitting," Franklin said. "There's no nervousness in anybody's eyes or body language."
But it's still disheartening to be in this spot for the second year in a row, especially when coach Rick Neuheisel had high hopes for the Bruins when the season began. The goal was for UCLA to be in the mix for a conference title, but some key injuries derailed that plan.
The Bruins lost Datone Jones, their best defensive lineman, and Kai Maiava, their starting center, before the season began. Quarterback Kevin Prince and middle linebacker Patrick Larimore have gone down in recent weeks, and a heaping of other injuries has robbed the Bruins of depth and forced Neuheisel to play unseasoned players.
"It's funny how the work you put in all offseason, you don't expect this type of outcome," safety Rahim Moore said. "But you know, things happen in certain years of football and sports, and you've got to just deal with it."
The fact that the Bruins have to deal with this situation for a second consecutive year is somewhat of a double-edged sword. The Bruins don't want to be in this position, but last season showed them that they can succeed in it.
"We definitely know it's possible being that we did it before," linebacker Akeem Ayers said. "Not that we like being in this situation, but we know that we've been in this situation before and we know we can fight out of it if we just fight through like we did last year."
The Bruins showed signs last week that they could be on the brink of breaking out of this slump. Against No. 15 Arizona, UCLA fought back from a deficit and had a couple of chances to win at the end before falling 29-21. Still, it was a much better result and is another parallel that can be drawn to last season.
When the Bruins lost five in a row in the middle of last season, the final game in that streak was a 26-19 loss to Oregon State. UCLA fell behind early and made a comeback that fell short. Still, it gave the team the confidence it needed to win its next three games.
"I'm hoping that history repeats itself," Neuheisel said. "I think we can put together a heck of a fight and find a way to win this game, which would be a terrific thing heading into the month of November. It would give us a chance to, as we did a year ago, battle back and get ourselves to the postseason, which is obviously the goal at this point."
Peter Yoon covers UCLA for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.
