Where Does UCLA Go From Here?

With a bowl game no longer in the conversation, what does UCLA have to play for in its final game?

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

When a team doesn't reach its goal of a postseason berth, it's difficult to find the motivation to play for something the rest of the way.

UCLA needed to win each of its final two games of the regular season to make a bowl game, and it wasn't able to pull that off as it came up short against its rival USC on Saturday.

While bowl eligibility is out of the picture, this team still plans to give this week the same approach it has every week. And you can expect the Bruins to come out just as hungry when they host Fresno State on Saturday, looking to finish the season on a high note.

“They kept rebounding this whole season," said UCLA coach DeShaun Foster after Saturday's loss. "So they will continue to be resilient and be the type of football players that I know they are. The season is not over. They signed up to play ball, and we are going to finish the season on a good note. Our guys will get out there, and I am going to try to send the seniors off the right way.”

Saturday's game came down to the Bruins' very last possession, and ultimately, they were unable to finish. While UCLA was effective at closing in each of its four wins so far this year, the fourth quarter played a major factor in some of its losses as well.

Foster had credited the team's three-game win streak this season to such losses from earlier in the year, as the team was able to learn and, therefore, finish down the stretch. It will look to do the same after Saturday's loss.

"We let one slip through our hands," Foster said. "All of these losses have come to pretty much us just letting it slip through our hands. We have to find a way to finish games and just keep coming out after the half and play better and finish a game. We have to really put our stamp on the end of it. We’ve just got to learn from this.”

UCLA will look to end the season with a fifth victory and do so in front of its home crowd. Saturday's game is set for 12:30 p.m. PST, 3:30 P.M. est.

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