UCLA football’s biggest break this weekend came two days after it upset then-No. 20 Cal 40-24 Thursday.
On Saturday, the Bruins’ crosstown rival, USC, changed the course of UCLA’s season when it knocked off the formerly undefeated Utah by a score of 42-24. The Utes tumbled from the third to the 13th spot in the AP rankings this week as a result.
“We were trying to enjoy our weekend … we got a long break and we wanted to enjoy it, but we were watching the game pretty intently,” said junior receiver Thomas Duarte. “The winning team was the team we wanted to win.”
By proving that Utah is not invincible, USC opened up the Pac-12 South to a number of postseason possibilities, all contingent on the remaining five games of the season.
Coach Jim Mora has never managed to win the Pac-12, despite leading his team to the conference championship game in 2012. The Bruins were offered a similar chance last year to make a deep postseason run, but squandered the opportunity by dropping their final game of the season to the Stanford Cardinal.
The No. 8 Cardinal may very well be destined for December’s championship at Levi’s Stadium after winning six straight games following their season-opening loss to Northwestern. If that’s the case, UCLA still has its work cut out for itself with Utah, USC and potentially Stanford left to face before bowl games are decided.
“We’re not really too worried about (Utah),” said redshirt junior defensive lineman Eli Ankou. “We’re just doing what we do, and all we have to do is win out.”
If UCLA wins out and beats Utah, it will be looking at its first Pac-12 championship berth since 2012.
“We want to stay very energetic, very optimistic,” said freshman running back Soso Jamabo. “We got an opportunity now, it’s in our own hands, it’s our own destiny what we’re gonna do.”
The Bruins experienced an emotional reset following their loss to Stanford, Ankou said. Even following that 21-point loss, freshman quarterback Josh Rosen predicted that UCLA would meet Stanford in the Pac-12 championship.
