UCLA football has thrust itself into a tight situation, prickling at the Bruins from all sides.
Off back-to-back losses, the pressure is on the Bruins to win the rest of their games, to salvage some of the fallen rubble of preseason expectations, to capture at the very least a Pac-12 South title.
“Now we have to win, now we have to do everything right,” said junior wide receiver Jordan Payton. “Now, our backs are fully against the wall, and we have to play well.”
Undeniably, the pressure is running high.
After Saturday’s game, sophomore linebacker Myles Jack said the high preseason expectations did affect the Bruins; they heard it and felt they needed to deliver. So as far as track records go, UCLA’s record under pressure is stained.
In a delicate balancing act on a razor-thin tightrope, the Bruins must attack with a sense of urgency, yet manage the pressure they’re putting on themselves.
“I tend not to breathe excess pressure on individuals or the team,” said redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley. “We would like to win out, and that’s what we need to do. But at the same time, you can’t focus on what you need to do in the whole scheme of things. You got to focus on this game, and then the next game, (etc.)”
As if the road ahead couldn’t appear more challenging, UCLA’s next game comes at a place it hasn’t emerged victorious from in its last seven tries, since 1998; at Cal (4-2, 2-2 Pac-12).
Carrying the load
Understanding the magnitude of the game only made the loss sting more.
“That one hurt a lot,” Payton said. “Because you put a lot of time and effort into understanding how big that game was. And for us to go out there and kind of play like we did, it’s sad, it’s hard.”
But there was at least one takeaway that made the loss sting a bit less.
Redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins cut, shifted and weaved through the Oregon defense for 190 yards on just 22 carries Saturday.
On the season, Perkins is up to 730 rush yards (121.7 yards-per-game), slotting him as Pac-12’s second, and the NCAA’s 14th, leading rusher.
“I think to take the reins after (former running back) Jonathan Franklin, he’s done a tremendous job,” Hundley said. “He’s come such a far ways from last year to this year. (Perkins) is really turning that running back position around.”
Carrying the burden
After starting the preseason ranked No. 7, the Bruins have tumbled from the rankings altogether – the first such time in over a year-and-a-half.
So is someone to blame for what has transpired?
If there is, Mora said it’s him.
“Just remember whenever you write anything, the guy that should get all the blame is me. Not these players, and not these assistants,” Mora said in a Sunday evening teleconference.
“I’m the one who gets paid to do it, so I got the big shoulders. So if you’re ever in a situation where you go, ‘I need to blame someone,’ blame me. Will you please?”
Mora is talking in classic ‘coach speak,’ but regardless, it’s clear something has to change, or there will be much more blame to lay out.