Battle of the editors: Jan. 8
With redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley returning, how many wins do you project for UCLA football?
Jordan Lee: UCLA will enter the 2014 season after its first 10-win season in eight years and with its first legitimate Heisman candidate in far longer. With Hundley as signal-caller and Mora on the sidelines for the third consecutive year, the expectation in Westwood will be at least another double-digit win season. Nonconference matchups with Virginia, Memphis and Texas all present winnable opportunities for the Bruins early on and the team’s two toughest conference games – Stanford and Oregon – are played at the Rose Bowl next season. With a more favorable schedule than this season and a QB-coach duo that produced 19 wins in its two years together, UCLA looks poised for an 11-win season.
Kevin Bowman: More than just giving Hundley another year to develop as a quarterback, his return allows UCLA as a whole to take a step forward rather than have a transition year with Asiantii Woulard taking the helm. With that continuity at quarterback, UCLA looks prepared to make the jump into the Pac-12’s – and possibly the nation’s – elite group of teams. A young offensive line will get better; receivers like Jordan Payton, Devin Lucien and Devin Fuller will be a year better; a talented 2014 recruit class looks poised to contribute. The games against Stanford and Oregon will be at the Rose Bowl this year, giving UCLA a good shot at winning at least one of those. The Bruins could easily go 11-1 in the regular season and another one to two wins in the Pac-12 championship and a bowl game. A 12- or 13-win season isn’t out of the question.
Chris Kalra: The Bruins will enter the 2014 season likely with a preseason top-10 ranking and legitimate national championship hopes. Hundley looks poised to develop into one of the nation’s best quarterbacks, the offensive line has a year of experience under its belt and the defensive line should be rounding into form behind freshman Eddie Vanderdoes and sophomore Ellis McCarthy. The once young and experienced secondary should be one of the strengths of the Bruins’ defense. Both Stanford’s and Oregon’s defenses seem to be in rebuilding mode, so it’s conceivable UCLA could take one of those games. With what might be one loss in the regular season, the Bruins should advance to the Pac-12 title game and could possibly win that too. Then they’d have the bowl game, possibly even the Rose Bowl. I’d say we’re looking at 12 wins and two losses.
Sari Zureiqat: Hundley’s return to UCLA football sits only as a huge question mark for UCLA football and his career. As Hundley is a college quarterback for a major team, time and health are simply both against him. Take Matt Barkley, who, after helping USC brand UCLA with a score-that-must-not-be-named in 2011 at a high point of his career, returned to USC for a fourth year in the name of “unfinished business.” In the game against UCLA in 2012, “business” was quickly finished, but not in the way Barkley intended – a sack by UCLA’s then-junior outside linebacker Anthony Barr and a dislocated shoulder made for a swift denouement to Barkley’s career. If things go wrong with Hundley’s return as they did for Barkley, there’s a chance UCLA may not do as well as it did this season.
Did coach Jim Mora make the right decision in returning to UCLA?
Jordan Lee: If reports are to be believed, Mora had the chance to become the head football coach at not only his alma mater Washington, but arguably the biggest coaching job in all of college sports in Texas. But was the decision the right one? I think so. Credit Mora for resisting the urge to head home, but Washington has been nothing more than a middle-of-the-road team in the Pac-12 in recent years and the path to the Rose Bowl appears much easier in the South Division. And while Texas carries with it a brand bigger than any in college football, Mora won’t encounter the enormous pressure in Westwood that would’ve been placed on him in Austin by boosters, fans and alumni. But more importantly than that, Mora appears to be building something in UCLA, and his decision to stay seems to indicate that the Bruins might just be more ready to win now than either of those schools.
Kevin Bowman: Mora has been open in saying how much he enjoys the college coaching environment compared to his time in the NFL. Dealing with players who don’t treat the game as a business must have rubbed off on him; passing on Texas was not the best business decision. Coaching at Texas would put Mora in the hotbed of high school recruiting in the most desired destination for many of Texas’ top recruits. At Texas, Mora could have quickly rebuilt the program and probably turned that into another cushy NFL job. But that’s not what Mora wanted and ultimately that’s all that matters. Mora made the choice to stay at UCLA with the players he’s come to care about, and if that’s the place he wants to be – even if there’s potentially less money and notoriety – then it’s the right choice.
Chris Kalra: UCLA’s football program is breaking onto the national scene. Why would Mora leave now? Forget brand-name Texas and Mora’s alma mater Washington, Mora has the opportunity to resurrect a program that once seemed dead. He can build his own legacy at a program that has more than embraced him. The Bruins have also committed to building a new state-of-the-art training facility in the near future, which should boost recruiting prospects. Mora has already started something special here. Why not finish it?
Sari Zureiqat: Mora accepting a coaching job at Texas, arguably the most prestigious college football program, would’ve have been good for him. Beyond the fame, Mora would’ve had a very comfortable life – former Longhorns coach Mack Brown was paid more than $20 million since 2009, or roughly $5 million a year. A salary between $5 and $6 million dollars, which is about what Mora was reportedly offered by Texas, comes out to roughly double what the Bruins’ coach makes now. If Brett Hundley had gone pro, Mora would’ve likely had to deal with a transitionary year of rebuilding the team – the quarterback’s decision to stay at UCLA may be one point of solace and hope for an even stronger upcoming season. Even then, one or two bad seasons is all it takes to destroy the hype around Mora and permanently end his chances at a higher position.
Who is your UCLA Athletics MVP from the fall?
Jordan Lee: The entire UCLA women’s soccer team is deserving, but I’ll go with Kodi Lavrusky as this isn’t the “MVT.” Everyone knows the old saying about big time players and big time games, and when you make that kick in that situation I have a hard time picking anybody else. The sophomore forward delivered the biggest kick in UCLA women’s soccer history and for that she’s my MVP.
Kevin Bowman: The team of the fall quarter was clearly women’s soccer, and there’s something to be said for the impact junior defender Ally Courtnall had in the College Cup with her stellar defense and game-tying goal in the semifinals. But men’s soccer had the best player. Junior midfielder Leo Stolz was dominant for the Bruins this year, leading his team to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Stolz’s 30 points and 11 goals led the Pac-12. He was an NSCAA First-Team All-American, a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist and the Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Chris Kalra: My UCLA Athletics MVP from the fall is UCLA women’s soccer junior defender Ally Courtnall. In the NCAA semifinals, Courtnall scored the game-tying goal in the 85th minute to keep the Bruins’ national championship hopes alive. The team went on to win the program’s first national title. Adding to that, Courtnall was one of the team’s best defenders all season long, a key piece in the Bruins’ No. 1-ranked defense. And to think that at the start of the season, she wasn’t even on the roster – she was mulling over the decision to play soccer or not this season. She chose to return, and that decision paid off for the program.
Sari Zureiqat: Men’s water polo had a disappointing end to a strong run during its season. The team featured a variety of standout players, but one who seemed to be consistently making an impact was redshirt freshman goalkeeper Garrett Danner. Danner was recently named UCLA’s first MPSF Newcomer of the Year, while additionally racking up an impressive number of saves. By the end of the season, Danner had left his mark, registering a career-high 15 saves against UC Santa Barbara in the MPSF quarterfinal game. And if that wasn’t enough, Danner broke the school record in his 262 saves in a single season. So, while water polo faltered here and there, Danner consistently kept the team alive, and he’ll likely only get better in his upcoming seasons.
