Junior quarterback, Jon Hays gets tackled and flipped by senior outside linebacker, Sean Westgate.
Since the first day of fall camp, coach Jim Mora has stressed the importance of overcoming adversity throughout the season.
Following UCLA’s 43-17 blowout loss to Cal in Berkeley, the Bruins (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) are working to remember that message going into Saturday’s game against the Utah Utes (2-3, 0-2).
“You can either lie down and quit or you can keep fighting,” Mora said.
“We’ve got to keep building that mindset with these guys. You hate to lose, but in a loss, great lessons can be learned that serve these kids later in life.”
While the Bruins work to bounce back from their second loss of the season, the Utes are focused on stabilizing their season. Utah has lost its last two games, along with a disappointing 27-20 loss to Utah State earlier this season.
Part of Utah’s struggles is derived from its lack of success in the run game. Senior running back John White has only one game with more than 100 yards rushing, and he’s averaging just 3.9 yards per carry.
Last season against the Bruins, White had 167 yards rushing and two touchdowns en route to a 31-6 win.
“They’re just a good offense. They’ve got five receivers that we think are really good receivers,” Mora said.
“So when you put a running back in the backfield that’s also very capable or a quarterback in the backfield that’s very capable of running, and you’re trying to play coverage, it just makes things a little more difficult.”
UCLA will look to re-establish itself as one of the top offenses in the nation.
Last week, the Bruins were only able to gain 381 total yards, which is almost 150 yards fewer than their season average of 530.5 yards per game.
A big part of the drop-off in production has to do with injuries to the receiving corps, which has lost major contributors redshirt freshman Devin Lucien and redshirt junior Darius Bell.
The team will have to look to its young receivers in true freshmen Jordan Payton and Devin Fuller for help. Payton had his best game as a Bruin last week against the Bears, picking up 41 yards on three catches.
“I love the way he plays the game,” Mora said of his freshman wideout. “I think he’s a good receiver and I think he’s going to be a darn good receiver here eventually.”
Fuller, on the other hand, had a rough outing in his first game as a receiver after moving over from quarterback early last week. Mora is confident that Fuller will eventually become a big part of the offense.
“He’s only had five practices as a receiver, but he’s done well. He’s very athletic,” Mora said.
Mora will need Fuller, Payton and the entire Bruin offense to bounce back this week if UCLA plans on recovering from last week’s loss.
Compiled by Jacob Ruffman, Bruin Sports senior staff.