A mid-tier bowl game, the one maddening constant of the Jim Mora era at UCLA, now might qualify as a relief for the Bruins.
They are off to the worst start of Mora’s five seasons as coach after a 27-21 loss to Washington State on Saturday night sunk the media’s preseason Pac-12 Conference South Division title favorites into fifth place.
A winning season is no sure thing for UCLA (3-4 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) given that all five of its remaining opponents, starting with Utah (6-1, 3-1) on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, have a higher winning percentage than the Bruins in conference play.