It’s interesting how much has changed in one year.
Last season, heading into Arizona, the UCLA football team was
8-0, ranked No. 5 in the BCS, and was being mentioned among the
contenders for a national championship title.
This year is obviously a lot different. The Bruins have already
had a setback against Washington, are unranked, and are most
certainly not national-title contenders.
But that doesn’t take away from the importance of this
game. This game is absolutely crucial in determining how the rest
of the Bruins’ season will go.
If the Bruins lose this game, they’re done ““ make no
mistake about it. With road games against Oregon, Notre Dame, Cal
and Arizona State and a home game against USC, the Bruins would be
hard-pressed to even become bowl eligible should they lose to the
Wildcats. It would be too big of a physical and mental blow to
overcome.
But take the flip side of that. What if the Bruins come out,
play a great game on both sides of the field, and beat the Wildcats
convincingly? If UCLA has any hopes of turning what could easily be
a mediocre or even poor season into a good season, it needs to
stomp Arizona.
This game is the last chance for the Bruins to make a statement
heading into the tough part of their season ““ a declaration
to the rest of the teams on their schedule that they will be a team
to be reckoned with.
It’s a huge game for the defense. After giving up 52
points to a bad Wildcats offense last season, shutting down the
Wildcats would be a great way to display just how much they have
improved.
It’s an even bigger game for the offense, which still
needs to show that it can move the ball and, most importantly,
convert in the red zone. The Wildcats, despite their poor defensive
numbers, may be the best defensive team the Bruins have had to face
so far this season; a strong offensive game could go a long way for
UCLA.
But more importantly for the Bruins, a convincing win against
the Wildcats would give the Bruins a huge psyche boost, one that
they desperately need.
The Bruins were absolutely punished by Arizona last year, and
that Arizona team hasn’t changed too much in the last 12
months. Arizona destroyed UCLA in every facet of the game and gave
the Bruins a blow that still stings everyone who has any sort of
positive emotional investment in the program.
A decisive win over the Wildcats would go a long way toward
ending that sting and turning it into a lasting confidence boost.
It would show the players and their fans that this team is capable
of competing and maybe even winning some of the difficult games
remaining on their schedule.
In short, for the Arizona game to really mean something, the
Bruins can’t just win the game; they have to play to the best
of their abilities on both sides of the ball and seize control of
the game much the way that the Wildcats did against the Bruins last
year.
If the Bruins can put together a complete performance on
Saturday, perhaps they can convince their fans ““ and
themselves ““ that they don’t have to wait another year
to be a really good team.
E-mail Azar at bazar@media.ucla.edu.