After a game that had a now-or-never feeling for UCLA’s bowl game ambitions, the Bruins are staring at the “never” part of that equation.
After a game in which Coach Jim Mora had wanted to give his players hope and “lead them out of the woods,” the Bruins are trapped more deeply in a forest of defeats and disappointment.
Even their cornerstone defense, which had kept them competitive after quarterback Josh Rosen suffered a shoulder injury and their running game remained embarrassingly invisible, was shredded Saturday in their 52-45 loss to Utah at the Rose Bowl, their third consecutive loss and fourth in the last five games.