Accept the pain. Deal with the discomfort. Allow yourself to be pampered by the misery.
That was the essence of UCLA coach DeShaun Foster’s message to his team after the Bruins suffered their heaviest home loss since a 35-0 defeat to Stanford in 2010 on Saturday.
“I just told them to hold onto the feeling they had when the game was over,” Foster said Monday, referring to the Bruins’ 42-13 loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl. “Hold yourselves together, be here every day this week and find a way to just not have that feeling.”
The Bruins were perhaps a little too downbeat on Monday, considering their slow start to practice. During the roughly half-hour session, which was open to reporters, players performed drills in a perfunctory manner. Normally talkative coaches were quiet.
Running back TJ Harden said the mood finally lightened when players realized they weren’t going to fight their way to success as the Bruins (1-1) began preparations for a nonconference game against No. 16 Louisiana State (2-1) on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“We can’t just hang our heads over the last game,” Harden said. “We have to focus on this game.”
Two days after that lousy home opener, there was a lot to process. Defensive lineman Sitiveni Havili Kaufusi said it was “a little emotional” in the locker room, although fellow defensive lineman Jay Toia was among the players who cheered up their teammates by talking about needed changes.
“He really just said we need to play more for each other,” Havili Kaufusi said, “and he emphasized the bad feeling you get when you lose. We’re all competitors on this team and we don’t want to feel that way again.”
Bookmakers expect the Bruins to remain under pressure. UCLA is the underdog, trailing LSU by 22½ points, and will likely see similar odds in its upcoming games against No. 9 Oregon and No. 10 Penn State.
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers (left) reacts next to running back TJ Harden after being sacked in the second half against Indiana on Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Foster said he was encouraged that a lot of players showed up at the practice facility on a scheduled day off Sunday to watch the footage. What was in the footage that made them cringe? At the top of the list was an offense that averages 14.5 points per game despite a struggling fifth-year quarterback and a running game that has stalled.
For Foster, the problem wasn’t a new West Coast offense that’s too complex for college players or the wrong decisions in the wrong situations. According to Foster, the problem started with the E-word.
“It’s really just about execution, making plays,” Foster said, “because later in the game, if we tried something and it worked, it’s because of the execution. So it’s really just about going out there and executing it and stopping getting ahead of ourselves.”
Foster dismissed the notion that he and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s NFL careers make them particularly suited to manipulate a running game that averaged 83.5 yards per game, ranking 122nd among 133 major college teams.
“Anyone can run the ball,” Foster said. “Coach (Chip) Kelly ran the ball and he didn’t play running back, so you put more emphasis on that than anything else, but the running game will be fixed.”
LSU’s defense may offer a chance to make those corrections, considering the Tigers have allowed 154 rushing yards per game as part of their own slow start to the season.
“I promise you guys, we’re going to figure it out,” Harden said. “We’re going to figure it out as we zigzag across the finish line as a group.”
Foster said: “The best thing about this whole thing is that we get another game in, what, six days? “
Etc.
Foster declined to comment on the status of injured defensive lineman Keanu Williams and defensive back Kanye Clark. Williams was seen Saturday with a protective boot on one foot after leaving the game and Clark was injured in kickoff coverage.
