After two weeks off, the Bruins are facing a must-win situation on Saturday when they take on Oregon State.
If UCLA (3-5, 2-3 Pac-10) is to become bowl-eligible, it will need to win three of its final four games ““ two of which are on the road.
The Beavers (5-3. 4-1 Pac-10), however, have won five of their past six games and need one more win to make a bowl.
The situation is eerily similar to when Oregon State came to the Rose Bowl two seasons ago looking to clinch a bowl berth with a win.
The Bruins snapped a four-game losing streak that day with a 25-7 upset win.
This time around, the Beavers will be favored again as the Bruins have settled to seventh place in the Pac-10 above three teams that have combined for one conference win.
Has it gotten harder to remain positive with the chances of reaching a bowl starting to slim?
“Not at all,” redshirt junior linebacker Reggie Carter said. “There’s still four games left. You only have to win six. The cards are right for us right now. … We’re going to try to win them all, but you never lose hope. When you lose hope, everything is lost so you got to always believe.”
After Saturday’s game, the three left on the Bruins’ schedule feature Washington, Arizona State and USC. Washington and ASU have combined for a 2-14 record this season, while USC (7-1, 5-1 Pac-10) is ranked No. 7 in the country.
To ensure themselves of a bowl bid before welcoming the Trojans on Dec. 6, the Bruins need to go three for three.
“They’re winnable,” Carter said. “Things change every week. With us having a bye somebody else lost this week and things like that. You never count yourself out until it’s over.”
For the Bruins to have any shot on Saturday, they will need to fix some of the problems on the offensive line that were exposed two weeks ago against California.
“That’ll be the order of the day, to try to shore up some deficiencies in our offensive line,” coach Rick Neuheisel said. “See if we can’t play a complete game there and hopefully win one for the home crowd.”
FRESHMEN SETTLING IN: With a handful of freshmen getting serious playing time in game situations, Carter has seen their development during the season and has noticed a change ““ particularly in true freshman safety Rahim Moore and redshirt freshman linebacker Akeem Ayers.
“They’re just more comfortable,” Carter said. “You could tell in the game and at practice they’re more comfortable. They have a better understanding for it. Rahim is definitely comfortable. He’s having fun every day. I don’t think he’s as nervous. I think he comes out and he’s relaxed and he’s just playing football like he’s been doing it for awhile now.
“Akeem is getting better day by day, week by week. He’s learning the defense better. I think this bye week gave them both time to try to learn a little more and gave us all time just to get better.”
BYE WEEK USED TO GET BACK TO BASICS: According to Carter, the Bruins used the bye week to renew focus on aspects of the game the Bruins can improve, rather than getting too deep into game-planning for Oregon State.
“You kind of worry about yourselves as far as tackling and your footwork and being where you’re supposed to be in the defense, playing better as a group together,” Carter said. “You just have more time to better yourselves and correct things.”