UCLA Football: DeShaun Foster Has No Interest in Moral Victories

Can the Bruins get their first Big Ten win on Saturday?

Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

UCLA football is still in search of their second victory of the 2024 season, and their first conference win as a member of the Big Ten as Week 7 begins. The Bruins earned a Week 1 win over Hawaii, but have dropped each of their last four games. Their 1-4 record is tied with Purdue for last place in the Big Ten.

The Bruins have experienced a significant drop-off during their first season under rookie head coach DeShaun Foster. After winning at least eight games in each of the last three seasons and making Bowl Games in each of those years, the Bruins have not even come close to a victory against any Power-4 opponent. Instead, UCLA barely came within two possessions of Penn State last week, their closest margin in a defeat this season.

UCLA has faced a daunting schedule this season — each of their last four opponents are ranked in the AP Top 20, and three of the four remain undefeated on the season.

The Bruins have largely been blown out by each of their last four opponents, but UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster has drawn positives from these games. Against LSU, the team saw a better performance from the offense during the first half. The following week versus Oregon, the Bruins believed their defense did a good job in the second half.

Despite taking away these positives from what was a largely negative stretch, Foster isn't looking for these "moral victories" over the rest of the season. He wants the team to turn out victories, especially as they return in front of the home crowd on Saturday at the Rose Bowl to take on Minnesota.

“I want to get our team out there and give the fans something to see,” Foster said, via Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. “Any time you can get a real victory and not necessarily a moral victory, it would be a good thing.”

Minnesota does pose a more realistic chance for UCLA to pull out a win than their last four opponents did. The Golden Gophers are 3-3 on the season, and will be playing at UCLA. Still, Minnesota will not be an easy opponent either. They just defeated USC in an upset, and came within seven points of No. 24 Michigan the week prior.

If UCLA can pull off the victory, it will be the biggest win of the season so far.

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