Biggest Key For UCLA With Bowl Game Still Within Reach

UCLA is capable of winning out, and there's one thing in particular it can do to help itself do so.

Nov 8, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster on the sidelines during the second half against the the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

UCLA's postseason berth is still there for the taking, and with both of its final two regualr season games being at home, there's no better opportunity.

When the Bruins started the season 1-5, a bowl game wasn't even in the conversation. But UCLA took the one-game-at-a-time approach, and it worked, as the Bruins produced three straight wins and, just like that, were on the verge of bowl eligibilithy with three games remaining.

A disappointing loss to Washington on the road, set them back a bit, but the goal of a bowl bid is still up for grabs. It won't be easy, but UCLA can make it less difficult by controlling what it can and limiting its mistakes.

"The whole meeting today was basically me telling them like we're beating ourselves," said UCLA coach DeShaun Foster when he addressed the media on Monday. "We're not allowing teams to beat us. we're putting ourselves in situations, and we're not the type of team that we can overcome that in the game. So we have to do better in playing well, being smart, being disciplined, being detailed, and things will go our away. We were able to figure it out for a three-game stretch, and it was just unfortunate that [we weren't] able to do that in Washington."

One of the keys to prevent those self inflicted wounds is "finishing." That will be crucial in this final stretch, with starts with UCLA's matchup with USC on Saturday.

"It's just bigger picture stuff," Foster said. "It's more of like we're using the word finish, but when you get tired, you still got to be able to function. When you're getting out there and you get fatigued a little bit, you can't have false starts, you can't not wrap up, you can't miss reads or miss holes. So, it's more of that stuff. But I just want to see them come out and practice and just execute throughout the whole practice. The same way that they come out in those first early periods, I want to see the same execution in those the later periods of the day. So, I think guys are -- they're excited for this challenge of how I've challenged them, not even for the game, but it's still all about us. That's one of our slogans. And I think that if we can continue to grow and learn from losses, we should be OK."

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