PASADENA — Sitting in the Rose Bowl’s press conference room, Tim Skipper laughed midway through the reporter’s question.
It wasn’t an admonishment or perceived upset from the often happy-go-lucky UCLA interim coach. It was a laugh of realization, of how up and down, and twisting and turning the Bruins (3-6, 3-3 Big Ten) have been across nine games.
When asked about the UCLA’s rollercoaster season, that on Saturday remained on a downward swing — such as a 100-foot drop that may make your stomach queasy — after the Bruins’ 14-point comeback couldn’t add another seven to the scoreboard in a 28-21 loss to Nebraska, Skipper turned to what’s ahead.
“The sun is gonna rise tomorrow,” Skipper said. “We’re not in quit mode or anything like that. Sun’s gonna rise.”
The sun will rise. Debating factual truths only goes so far, compared to decisions such as when or when not to go for it on fourth down, like the Bruins faced twice Saturday night (converting once on a third-quarter punt, but whiffing in the second quarter). But another fact is that the thunder — on the road — is coming again for the Bruins.
Top-ranked Ohio State is next on the schedule, and if UCLA shows up like it did against No. 2 Indiana two weeks ago, then the Bruins and Skipper could be in for another long day.
“We’re gonna watch this film (against Nebraska),” Skipper said. “We’re gonna get better for it, from it, and then we’re gonna have Monday, and we have Tuesday, and we’re get after it, and we’re gonna go fly over to Ohio and go play ball.”
Just a few weeks ago, fans joked about the case for UCLA to knock off Ohio State, especially after taking down No. 7 Penn State in one of the sport’s greatest regular-season upsets.
But now, looking at how the season has transpired for the Big Ten victories the Bruins do own, maybe there is reason for more quiet than yells from the throngs of the national media about UCLA. Penn State is 3-6. Michigan State is 3-6. Maryland is 4-5.
The Nittany Lions have yet to win in conference action; the same goes for the Spartans. Terrapins coach Mike Locksley, who is solidly on the hot seat after Maryland lost to Rutgers 35-20 on Saturday, has coached his team to one victory in the Big Ten.
One win out of 17 games. That’s how the teams the Bruins defeated fare. Defeating the Buckeyes would be an upset of proportions far beyond the Penn State game and far beyond the scope of the sport’s history as a whole.
But anything can happen — it’s football.
For redshirt junior linebacker Jalen Woods, he’s putting his all into the final games on the Bruins’ schedule. Beyond Ohio State, meetings with Washington and Jedd Fisch (a rumored candidate for UCLA’s head coaching job), and USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum still await.
“We got three more games left,” he said. “Every game, we playing like it’s our last. So, everyone’s giving 100% effort, and nobody’s quitting on the team or nothing like that.”