UCLA presented with yet another opportunity to trump Oregon
By Chris Kalra
Oct. 10, 2014 4:16 a.m.
In a wistful moment, Jim Mora bowed his head ever so slightly, a disheartened look spreading across his face.
Clearly, UCLA’s 42-14 loss to then-No. 2 Oregon last October was nowhere near what the coach came to Eugene for as he spoke to the media afterwards.
“It was disappointing you know. We weren’t satisfied being 14-14 at half,” Mora said. “There’s no moral victories in sports, not when you’re trying to become a champion. We reject that notion.”
It’s a feeling the Bruins have felt again and again over the last two years.
Since Mora arrived at UCLA and redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley became the Bruins’ starter, UCLA, in four tries, has yet to beat the Pac-12 elite – Stanford and Oregon.
It didn’t happen in a late-November 2012 35-17 home blowout loss to Stanford. A week later, in the Pac-12 championship game, the Bruins again fell short, 27-24, to the Cardinal. Then-freshman kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 52-yard kick pushed agonizingly wide-left for the Bruins.
The year after, on Oct. 19, 2013, UCLA, like a horror movie on replay, couldn’t capitalize on its opportunities against Stanford, falling 24-10. Then came the blowout loss to Oregon the following Saturday.
UCLA has had its chances to snatch that one signature win – and to launch itself into the Pac-12’s elite. Time after time, though, the Bruins caught only air.
“In order for us as a program to take that next step forward, (the Oregon and Stanford games) are the types of games we have to win,” said sophomore linebacker Myles Jack.
After that 2013 loss to Oregon, Mora admitted the Bruins aren’t at the level of a champion just yet. But they are trying desperately to get there, and they will get there, Mora said.
That’s why Saturday’s game against No. 12 Oregon is so important – much more than just a win or loss that could hang with it the direction of the Bruins’ season.
The matchup is a barometer of how much UCLA’s program has grown since the start of Mora’s first season. Undeniably, the program has improved under Mora, but the question remains: Can UCLA make the jump to the Pac-12’s elite and the nation’s elite? Or is this the ceiling for the Bruins under Mora?
“This game is going to be very big, it’s going to tell where we’re going this season,” said redshirt senior defensive end Owamagbe Odigihizuwa. “Nationally, a lot is on the line.”
Ever the optimistic, redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley simply said, “New year, new opportunity.”
Indeed, opportunity knocks again for UCLA.
