Undefeated UCLA football team works its way toward national title goal

“Winning a national championship” had long been just a saying for UCLA football.

Like buckling a seatbelt or locking the door at night, it’s appeared almost always as an involuntary, a habitual set of four words tacked on to the end of a quote for good measure.

Now 5-0, the team said the thought is earning more weight.

“Being a senior, being here before (coach Jim) Mora got here, we didn’t really think about the national championship game,” said defensive tackle Seali’i Epenesa. “But hard work pays off and we’re in a great position, so hopefully we can continue.”

A win over No. 13 Stanford on Saturday would be UCLA’s best, rankings-wise, since 2010, when the Bruins toppled the then-No. 7 Texas Longhorns, a squad that would eventually free-fall to a 5-7 finish.

A mantra all year for the Bruins has been to take things one game at a time, to not vocally anticipate UCLA’s October matchups with Stanford and No. 2 Oregon for fear of overlooking the opponent at hand. Now undefeated and focusing intently on the film of a team that twice bested the Bruins last year, some players have said it’s difficult not to consider things like opportunity and legacy when facing the two Pac-12 North stalwarts.

“These are what, me personally, I sort of thrive in,” said redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley. “I sort of feel like these games, I was born to play in. Every game is big, but these games mean a lot. They really do.”

The possibility of finishing the first half of the regular season undefeated even has the No. 9 Bruins addressing computer polls and rankings indices, more foreign concepts in the past.

“It’s not our decision with the computers,” said redshirt junior safety Anthony Jefferson of the team’s title hopes. “I don’t even really know how it works, but if we win out and do our jobs, then it puts us in the best position to get to that national stage.”

In order to make those computers whir and crunch numbers in the Bruins’ favor when the BCS poll officially debuts this Sunday, they’ll have to stop playmakers like Stanford wide receiver Ty Montgomery. A physical, 6-foot-2 receiver for the Cardinal, he ranks third in the Pac-12 with five touchdown receptions this season.

“We know where he likes to go so we have to keep that in the back of our mind,” Jefferson said. “We just have to stay with our rules and not get caught up with guessing where he’s going to go.”

All apologies

In the second quarter of UCLA’s 37-10 win over Cal, senior defensive end Cassius Marsh was ejected for throwing a punch at Cal offensive lineman Jordan Rigsbee. The two appeared to have a less-than-cordial back and forth throughout much of the first half, and the exchange ended with Marsh sitting for the game’s final two-plus quarters.

Following the game, Mora said Marsh, who ranks third on the team with two sacks, fell for Cal’s tactics, hook, line and sinker.

“I know that they were baiting him,” he said. “And he took the bait.”

Five days removed from the ejection, Marsh appeared apologetic and remorseful for his actions, which he said hurt the Bruins.

“There’s no excuse for my actions and I let down my team and I affected my team,” Marsh said. “I made the mistake of reacting, and that’s my fault.”

Marsh said learning to deal with frustration, particularly on the football field, is an area where he’s made a lot of progress. Saturday’s scuffle, he said, indicates that there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“As I’m sure you guys know, it’s something I’ve been working on my whole career and I’ll continue to do so,” he said. “It’s hard because at this point I feel like I have little to no credibility in saying that I’ll continue to work.”

When asked about whether the Pac-12 had contacted him about any disciplinary action for Saturday’s game at Stanford, Marsh said, “I’ll be playing.”