Nov 14, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Nate Starks (23) scores on a 14-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against the Washington State Cougars in a NCAA football game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Bruins at home on the road
UCLA is coming off a home loss to Washington State, an outcome that ended up meaning … well, not a whole lot.
Before last Saturday’s games, the Bruins were in control of their destiny in the Pac-12 South race. After Saturday’s game, same thing. UCLA, 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the Pac-12, sits a game back of Utah and USC in the division.
Good news: UCLA gets to play both in the final two weeks, so it would win any head-to-head tiebreaker at the end of the season if it wins out.
“We always look at the scores and see what’s going on around college football,” running back Paul Perkins said. “Once we lost, we realized we still had a mulligan.”
That mulligan came courtesy of Arizona, which upset the then-10th-ranked Utes around the same time that Washington State rallied to beat UCLA 31-27 with a touchdown with three seconds left.
“When you lose on the last play, sometimes it tends to linger,” said coach Jim Mora after Tuesday’s practice. “It can have an effect on young guys, kind of hangover effect, and you worry about that, you really do.
“But these guys came back today, they were really business-like and were really into it. I think they understand the challenges that we face this week, and the opportunity as well.”
There has been worry about UCLA on the road. It was won eight of its last nine conference road games and 13 of its last 14 contests played away from the Rose Bowl. Mora touted the “togetherness” of being on the road as a positive.
“I think you get a little burr in your saddle, and it’s us-against-them, it’s 70 vs. 50,000 or 60,000,” Mora said. “When you’re on the road, it’s just a different environment. I think it just brings you closer.
“I don’t know what it is in these kids’ DNA or their background, but when they’re the underdog, when people are telling them they can’t do it, when they’re on the road in a hostile environment, something happens to them. They rise up.”
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–DT Kenny Clark is one of the top interior linemen in the country, and he’ll anchor the front against a physical Utah team that likes to lean on RB Devontae Booker. Clark has 53 tackles, including eight sacks, and he knows when to get his hands in the air, knocking down five pass attempts.
–WR Jordan Payton tied the school single-game record last week with 14 catches vs. Washington State. He has been hot late in the season, helping the senior move into second on UCLA’s list of career receptions. He has 187, just six shy of the record set by Craig Bragg from 2001 to 2004.
–QB Josh Rosen, a true freshman, has thrown 188 passes since his last interception, which came in the third quarter at Stanford on Oct. 15. Rosen has not been picked off in the past four full games. “We’ve all seen the progress that he’s made,” said coach Jim Mora. “It’s really been phenomenal what he’s been able to do over the course of the year as far as improving as a decision-maker.” The school record for passes without an interception is 199, set by Drew Olson in 2005.
