I find it interesting how becoming bowl eligible is now important, when the season previews laid out all the reasons it wouldn't happen.
This was always going to be a dumpster fire of a season. The fact that we even have a chance to sniff bowl eligibility while having played the #4 SOS (Massey) to this point exceeds my expectations on the year.
I was a fan of the Foster hire, but firing him if these 2 games don't go right, after the abbreviated off season he had, would confirm the completely irrational expectations of the UCLA football program. Buckle up kiddos, we are riding out the end of the ride we started when everyone wanted the Chip Kelly experience.
Oh, I don't think Foster is getting fired this year, but if there's any chance at success going forward, he has to show some kind of proof that he can rise to the occasion. There will be a chance to fix things in the offseason, but if he doesn't get donors excited to give money to things like NIL, then next year ends up worse and Foster is gone after two, likely with Jarmond with him for putting on this farce. UCLA has been a vibes team all year, and it can't really afford to have negative vibes going into the offseason in that regard.
And I don't think it is irrational for the UCLA fanbase to expect a winning season when the coach himself set that as the expectation. I don't think it is irrational for the UCLA fanbase to expect a good season when Foster was sold to UCLA fans as a continuation of the Chip Kelly era that the administration felt was perfectly good. Again, if Foster wants to change all that, he has to win, plain and simple.
"At this point, it should be obvious that I do not expect this UCLA team to make a bowl game. I think there’s too much going against them, and it would be unfair to DeShaun Foster to expect that kind of performance given how much talent was lost this past offseason and how he was not given a true opportunity to replace it."
In my opinion this year was a throwaway year no matter who was hired. No one was fixining this with the state Chip left the program. I was never in on Foster, based solely on inexperience, but I strongly believe you need to give coaches time to ge their feet under them when thrown into bad situations.
I do agree with it being a throwaway year, and I think if Foster was a new hire with no attachments to the past, I would frankly be way more forgiving of things than I currently am. But I also don't think it is unfair to grade the performance based on what was sold to fans, and on what Foster himself has said. If Foster had come in and said "hey, I love Chip Kelly and the guys here, but we were doing a lot of things wrong that we need to fix, and that takes time", we'd all be good, but that's not what happened.
I will also note that I gave my expectations for the year right after that quote, with the five points:
- Development of players
- Development of coaching staff
- Competitive drive
- Don't do embarrassing things
- Beat Southern Cal
On the first two, that has not take place. The team, specifically on offense, has not improved throughout the year, often putting out one fire just for another one to spring up. The coaching staff has similarly failed in multiple winnable games to put the team in the best position to win. The team has absolutely succeeded at continuing to compete, and have been able to avoid doing the embarrassing things I was afraid of (with the exception of penalties still being a concern). So they're at a 2-2 record going into this game. This game always has meaning but maybe even more this year.
(Also, just to toot my own horn, but boy did I call Indiana being good this year. Maybe not this good, but still).
Is Indiana that good or is their schedule just that soft? We are Indiana's 3rd best win of the season. Michigan and Washington are their signature wins.
Yeah, I’d say they are. Their margin of victory is exceptionally high, and their resume is equal to that of Texas, who we all assume is good despite their two best victories being Michigan and Vanderbilt.
Here is an interesting thought. Against Indiana's schedule we are probably looking at an 8-4 record, outside shot at 9-3, and a possible trip to the Alamo bowl. Would Foster be judged differently if we were playing a 70+ ranked schedule instead of the #3 schedule we have this year, per Massey ratings?
Thank you for your detailed review. More questions than answers can also be applied to how our $1.3 mil Athletic Director received a contract extension.
Coach Fos hire was NOT the continuation of Chipster Alfraud era. I don't like Jelly Jarmond aka Donut 2.0 but Fos is the antithesis of CA. Under CA, we were 3-9 the first season with a major multi million $$$ contract tied in to boot. CA didn't like UCLA, he didn't like the fans either - he liked the fricken $$$$ - period! Yet oh how most were in awe of the big fat dumpster fire CA.
Coach Fos has done pretty darn well considering the big fat mess CA left behind. He is learning and he has a great rapport with players and he is a natural authentic recruiter and actually enjoys it. Give him a chance!!!
Yes, the UDub loss was very painful. Garbs doesn't have to be perfect but he is not close to great and he will never be - good kid, but not a gifted QB. It takes time to rebuild from ashes - but Coach Fos will be a really good if not great coach given time.
Coach Fos will not be fired nor should he be fired. He should be given a chance to rebuild at the school he loves as there us no one who wants to be more successful than he does.
I do believe we can beat suc and Fresno and get to a bowl, as you can throw out all odds when it comes to suc and we are better than the bulldogs. We shall see...
Speaking of questions... and of course I am digressing... But if Cronin doesn't make a deep run in the Tourney this year with all the talent he suppoosedly brought in and his big NIL bucket, perhaps he should pack his temper tantrums and tirades and find another place to lose to Arizona and Gonzaga for the 100th time.
Being bowl eligible this year is irrelevant. Unfortunately, this team is so undisciplined and unprepared (these are coaching issues) they are unwatchable. I would rather watch paint dry.
I do agree that there have been way too many penalties - however that is a fixable issue and yes, it needs to be fixed. And yes there have been coaching mistakes. So give Coach Fos a chance to fully recruit his guys and develop them, and that will likely help on all fronts. If discipline issues continue next season then I will be more concerned.
But this team has never given up and a Bowl game is absolutely relevant on many levels. Yes UDub was a setback but this team has never quit despite all the challenges left by CA. They have shown great spirit and Coach Fos will learn from his mistakes and I believe he will turn UCLA into a great program once again.
Not sure if you watched the Rutgers or Nebraska or Iowa games, but they were all exciting wins despite the mistakes and penalties which like I said, absolutely must be fixed.
In the meantime... I do suggest you not waste your time watching the suc or Fresno games and instead find a blank wall to watch the paint dry. You will be much happier and I wish you well.
You owe us no apology, Dmitri, you do yeomen's work writing these eye tests for us. I think we all, as Bruin fans are wont, were hoping this team would get it together. Washington proved that wishful thinking.
Holy cow. The negativity on this site is unbearable. I've been a season ticket holder for a while now, and there's no question that the chip Kelly years absolutely sucked, especially as a fan watching some of those horrific performances in person at the RB.
But the team this year has a different tone. There's positive energy. I don't agree with the comment about this team being unwatchable. We sat in our seats, along with most others, to the very end of the Iowa game. There are very few games in the past 5 years where that was the case.
When you refer to a team like this as garbage, keep in mind that these are kids. How would you feel if someone said that about your kids and their team? They're just trying to do the best, so let's give them some words of encouragement every now and then. And, I've said it before and I'll say it again - I think the coaching staff is doing a pretty amazing job with what they were left with, which was absolutely nothing, thanks to one of the worst coaches in the history of this program.
Before this season started, when DSF was hired, there were people on here saying we wouldn't get more than 2 wins. Well, here we are with 4 in our pocket, and the possibility for 2 more, and even the possibility to become bowl eligible. And now we're hearing that this coaching staff sucks. Coach DSF may not have any experience and the coaching prowess of other options, but he sure seems like a good guy, who the kids like. That goes a long way in my book, and is 180° from the last "coach".
I encourage you all, myself included, to be more positive and hopeful.
🎶 It's gonna take a miracle
Denise Williams
Right-on evaluation as usual, and the last two paragraphs hit the nail on the head. Some of us are waiting...
I find it interesting how becoming bowl eligible is now important, when the season previews laid out all the reasons it wouldn't happen.
This was always going to be a dumpster fire of a season. The fact that we even have a chance to sniff bowl eligibility while having played the #4 SOS (Massey) to this point exceeds my expectations on the year.
I was a fan of the Foster hire, but firing him if these 2 games don't go right, after the abbreviated off season he had, would confirm the completely irrational expectations of the UCLA football program. Buckle up kiddos, we are riding out the end of the ride we started when everyone wanted the Chip Kelly experience.
No argument, but as a donor it's the "D" thing that's bothering me, and I don't mean Defense.
Oh, I don't think Foster is getting fired this year, but if there's any chance at success going forward, he has to show some kind of proof that he can rise to the occasion. There will be a chance to fix things in the offseason, but if he doesn't get donors excited to give money to things like NIL, then next year ends up worse and Foster is gone after two, likely with Jarmond with him for putting on this farce. UCLA has been a vibes team all year, and it can't really afford to have negative vibes going into the offseason in that regard.
And I don't think it is irrational for the UCLA fanbase to expect a winning season when the coach himself set that as the expectation. I don't think it is irrational for the UCLA fanbase to expect a good season when Foster was sold to UCLA fans as a continuation of the Chip Kelly era that the administration felt was perfectly good. Again, if Foster wants to change all that, he has to win, plain and simple.
This was your quote 3 months ago:
"At this point, it should be obvious that I do not expect this UCLA team to make a bowl game. I think there’s too much going against them, and it would be unfair to DeShaun Foster to expect that kind of performance given how much talent was lost this past offseason and how he was not given a true opportunity to replace it."
In my opinion this year was a throwaway year no matter who was hired. No one was fixining this with the state Chip left the program. I was never in on Foster, based solely on inexperience, but I strongly believe you need to give coaches time to ge their feet under them when thrown into bad situations.
I do agree with it being a throwaway year, and I think if Foster was a new hire with no attachments to the past, I would frankly be way more forgiving of things than I currently am. But I also don't think it is unfair to grade the performance based on what was sold to fans, and on what Foster himself has said. If Foster had come in and said "hey, I love Chip Kelly and the guys here, but we were doing a lot of things wrong that we need to fix, and that takes time", we'd all be good, but that's not what happened.
I will also note that I gave my expectations for the year right after that quote, with the five points:
- Development of players
- Development of coaching staff
- Competitive drive
- Don't do embarrassing things
- Beat Southern Cal
On the first two, that has not take place. The team, specifically on offense, has not improved throughout the year, often putting out one fire just for another one to spring up. The coaching staff has similarly failed in multiple winnable games to put the team in the best position to win. The team has absolutely succeeded at continuing to compete, and have been able to avoid doing the embarrassing things I was afraid of (with the exception of penalties still being a concern). So they're at a 2-2 record going into this game. This game always has meaning but maybe even more this year.
(Also, just to toot my own horn, but boy did I call Indiana being good this year. Maybe not this good, but still).
Is Indiana that good or is their schedule just that soft? We are Indiana's 3rd best win of the season. Michigan and Washington are their signature wins.
Yeah, I’d say they are. Their margin of victory is exceptionally high, and their resume is equal to that of Texas, who we all assume is good despite their two best victories being Michigan and Vanderbilt.
Here is an interesting thought. Against Indiana's schedule we are probably looking at an 8-4 record, outside shot at 9-3, and a possible trip to the Alamo bowl. Would Foster be judged differently if we were playing a 70+ ranked schedule instead of the #3 schedule we have this year, per Massey ratings?
Next year will be worse with all the upperclassmen we're losing.
Thank you for your detailed review. More questions than answers can also be applied to how our $1.3 mil Athletic Director received a contract extension.
Garbers's stats for the game look pretty good, but having watched it, a D- is an accurate grade.
Coach Fos hire was NOT the continuation of Chipster Alfraud era. I don't like Jelly Jarmond aka Donut 2.0 but Fos is the antithesis of CA. Under CA, we were 3-9 the first season with a major multi million $$$ contract tied in to boot. CA didn't like UCLA, he didn't like the fans either - he liked the fricken $$$$ - period! Yet oh how most were in awe of the big fat dumpster fire CA.
Coach Fos has done pretty darn well considering the big fat mess CA left behind. He is learning and he has a great rapport with players and he is a natural authentic recruiter and actually enjoys it. Give him a chance!!!
Yes, the UDub loss was very painful. Garbs doesn't have to be perfect but he is not close to great and he will never be - good kid, but not a gifted QB. It takes time to rebuild from ashes - but Coach Fos will be a really good if not great coach given time.
Coach Fos will not be fired nor should he be fired. He should be given a chance to rebuild at the school he loves as there us no one who wants to be more successful than he does.
I do believe we can beat suc and Fresno and get to a bowl, as you can throw out all odds when it comes to suc and we are better than the bulldogs. We shall see...
Speaking of questions... and of course I am digressing... But if Cronin doesn't make a deep run in the Tourney this year with all the talent he suppoosedly brought in and his big NIL bucket, perhaps he should pack his temper tantrums and tirades and find another place to lose to Arizona and Gonzaga for the 100th time.
Being bowl eligible this year is irrelevant. Unfortunately, this team is so undisciplined and unprepared (these are coaching issues) they are unwatchable. I would rather watch paint dry.
I do agree that there have been way too many penalties - however that is a fixable issue and yes, it needs to be fixed. And yes there have been coaching mistakes. So give Coach Fos a chance to fully recruit his guys and develop them, and that will likely help on all fronts. If discipline issues continue next season then I will be more concerned.
But this team has never given up and a Bowl game is absolutely relevant on many levels. Yes UDub was a setback but this team has never quit despite all the challenges left by CA. They have shown great spirit and Coach Fos will learn from his mistakes and I believe he will turn UCLA into a great program once again.
Not sure if you watched the Rutgers or Nebraska or Iowa games, but they were all exciting wins despite the mistakes and penalties which like I said, absolutely must be fixed.
In the meantime... I do suggest you not waste your time watching the suc or Fresno games and instead find a blank wall to watch the paint dry. You will be much happier and I wish you well.
I havre actually sat in my living room and watched paint dry...not an unpleasant way to spend a few hours...
With the right music on, it might be a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
You owe us no apology, Dmitri, you do yeomen's work writing these eye tests for us. I think we all, as Bruin fans are wont, were hoping this team would get it together. Washington proved that wishful thinking.
Garbers isn't going to get any better...and Foster stays for at least another year or two if not five...
Holy cow. The negativity on this site is unbearable. I've been a season ticket holder for a while now, and there's no question that the chip Kelly years absolutely sucked, especially as a fan watching some of those horrific performances in person at the RB.
But the team this year has a different tone. There's positive energy. I don't agree with the comment about this team being unwatchable. We sat in our seats, along with most others, to the very end of the Iowa game. There are very few games in the past 5 years where that was the case.
When you refer to a team like this as garbage, keep in mind that these are kids. How would you feel if someone said that about your kids and their team? They're just trying to do the best, so let's give them some words of encouragement every now and then. And, I've said it before and I'll say it again - I think the coaching staff is doing a pretty amazing job with what they were left with, which was absolutely nothing, thanks to one of the worst coaches in the history of this program.
Before this season started, when DSF was hired, there were people on here saying we wouldn't get more than 2 wins. Well, here we are with 4 in our pocket, and the possibility for 2 more, and even the possibility to become bowl eligible. And now we're hearing that this coaching staff sucks. Coach DSF may not have any experience and the coaching prowess of other options, but he sure seems like a good guy, who the kids like. That goes a long way in my book, and is 180° from the last "coach".
I encourage you all, myself included, to be more positive and hopeful.