Saturday should serve as a sharp reminder for the UCLA Bruins that there’s still much work to do within the program. No. 2 Indiana blew out the Bruins 56-6. UCLA couldn’t do much to stop the Hoosiers from imposing their will.
The program’s deep-rooted issues remain and they won’t fix themselves
It reminds us how UCLA got themselves into this position, spending years being mismanaged and putting themselves into disadvantageous positions in recent years under athletic director Martin Jarmond. The product on the field was just on bad on Saturday, losing by 50 while looking helpless on both sides of the ball. There won’t be any Jerry Neuheisel wunderkid stories after the Bruins’ offense put up just six points. Kevin Coyle’s defense may have looked even worse, giving up the 56 points.
There’s steps to being able to take the next step
To become a team that’s capable of playing with true contenders, UCLA will need a new athletic department and perhaps even a new coaching staff. While Tim Skipper deserves to be a head coach next season, should UCLA be the ones giving him that job? Skipper has been just what the Bruins’ needed this season but as the program looks to ascend, is he capable of raising up the Bruins?
Head coach hunt back on?
Living in Los Angeles helps, but it’s unclear how desirable the UCLA head coaching job is, considering the smaller NIL revenue compared to conference opponents and the fact that Jarmond may be out of a job soon as well.
We’ll always have that three-week run
The Bruins strung some wins together but looking back on those victories, none of them are wildly impressive. The Penn State win felt great in the moment but as time passes, we realize that the Nittany Lions’ program was imploding and UCLA just took advantage of that.
Indiana is really good and UCLA isn’t … yet
There’s plenty to still watch for and be pleased with from the Bruins this year but Saturday’s game is an eye opener for everyone to see just how far away UCLA and their football program is from true relevance.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Rebuilds don’t take three weeks — UCLA football learns important lessons from Indiana
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
