Bob Stanton-US PRESSWIRE
Well, this is what it’s like to be a UCLA fan, huh?
The Bruins were demolished, embarrassed and dismantled by the California Bears 43-17 in Berkeley, extending their winless streak in Berkeley to 16 years (because the Bruins don’t play Cal up north in 2013).
And it was exactly as bad as it sounds. The Bruins were listless from the start when the Bears rolled to a third-quarter 23-7 lead. The Bruins gave a half-ass effort to rally, but the game never was competitive.
Of course, fans were afraid of Cal, not because Cal had proven to be a good team with close losses (since they were 1-4 coming in), but because UCLA historically doesn’t play well in Berkeley, and Cal always exceeds expectations against the Bruins in Memorial Stadium.
But that’s no excuse, because if that were the case, a close loss might’ve confirmed this.
Instead, UCLA showed up totally unprepared and entirely unfocused. While the numbers — save for the score — suggest this game was close, it was the turnover disparity that insured a UCLA loss.
Six turnovers for UCLA, and about half were actually forced and and four were a result of Brett Hundley making silly decisions. Cal, on the other hand, had “just” three turnovers, and the majority weren’t forced by UCLA.
This is humbling, not just for UCLA, but for the fans that have trashed on U$C and every opponent we’ve faced this season. UCLA fans — myself included — have talked our fair share of trash, and now it’s time we sit down and shut up.
We’ll have more on this game. For now, let’s just all cry together, because life is the worst.