Jan 2, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Paul Perkins (24) runs the ball for a touchdown during the second half of the 2015 Alamo Bowl against the Kansas State Wildcats at Alamodome. The Bruins won 40-35. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Well folks, there you have it. UCLA Football’s 2014 campaign has come to a close and through it’s ups and downs, we can say comfortably that it was a moderate success. 10 wins, 3 losses, and way too many close calls that lead to a January bowl berth and a great win over a great team in Kansas State. From week one against Virginia, where the Bruin offense was nearly non-existent, to a scare against Memphis that saw no defense, this season was a roller coaster along the toughest schedule in the nation — and Jim Mora said it best after the Alamo Bowl.
"“We won 10 games this year with the toughest schedule in college football. We played 10 bowl teams, including Kansas State.”"
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Sure, the Bruins were a top-10 team in the preseason, and sure they were dubbed a dark-horse title contender, but they by no means failed this season. Their three losses have come to teams that combined to go 3-0 in bowl season (with a potential for Oregon to go 4-0 this Monday, should they win the national championship), and while disappointing, all but one seemed possible heading into the match-up. Against Oregon and Stanford, prior to this years games, UCLA had not earned a win in the Mora era — and that didn’t change. Nonetheless, Oregon is shaping up to be the best team in America, while Stanford’s style of play has always troubled the Bruins — not to mention they were playing great football towards the end of the season and their match-up with UCLA. Utah, on the other hand, seemed like easy prey for Brett Hundley and his crew, but they didn’t role over on their backs; in fact, they surprised a lot of people this season. So with 10 wins that include USC and K-State, 2014 was a pretty good year for UCLA Football. Here’s how we at Go Joe Bruin breakdown the team play this year.
So there you have it, the GJB breakdown of the season. It’s time we look now to our calenders and count down until spring training.