UCLA trying to find what to play for in final two weeks of season
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With two games remaining, UCLA faces one of the toughest questions in college football: how do you get something out of a lost season?
This past Saturday’s blowout loss at Ohio State dropped the Bruins’ record to 3-7, officially eliminating them from the slim possibility of becoming bowl-eligible. Their final two games — this coming Saturday against Washington and Nov. 29 at USC — now mean less than they might have otherwise.
Now they look to find some sort of motivation to end the season on a positive note.
“We’re focused on finishing the season right, taking it one day at a time, and just giving our best effort,” head coach Tim Skipper said on Monday morning. “Everybody knows you’re measured when you’re dealing with adversity. So we’re going to attack the situation and try to do everything we can to be successful by Saturday.”
If nothing else, the Bruins have a chance to conclude their campaign with strong performances against two good teams after having lost to Ohio State and Indiana by a combined score of 104-16.
“I think we went into the games fully prepared. Went and attacked it. They went how they went,” Skipper said. “And then hopefully you learn from them, and it leads into a better next week, you know what I mean? So we’ll learn from both of those games constantly, and we have two games left, and hopefully experiences from those games will carry over to these.”
On the players’ side, a season that will finish 5-7 at best is obviously not what any of them wanted. But in addition to their desire to finish the season the right way, they are finding incentive in the joy of playing football and being part of a team.
“We all are just here to play football because we like football, man,” defensive lineman Keanu Williams said. “I think Coach Skip’s message — and the guys’ in general — like, we can’t just give up and just throw in the towel. This is not the hardest thing we’re about to do in life. So when it comes to just football, we got to finish this thing out. So we’ll do it 100 percent.”
“This is the game we love,” tight end Jack Pedersen added. “I always think of it as, this is a children’s game, right? We’re just big kids playing the kids’ game. And obviously, as you keep rising up the ranks, you get compensated for it, and it’s people’s livelihoods and everything. But at the end of the day, it’s a game, you know? There’s lines and a ball. And we just need to have fun and stay motivated.”
Perhaps UCLA’s motivation is inherent as well. They have something to play for purely in proving they can play like there’s something to play for.
“I think a lot of us are trying to make it to the next level, the NFL, and people are still watching the games, right?” Pedersen said. “Play for yourself, play for the university, play for the name on the back of your jersey. I think there’s a lot to play for this late in the season.”
“And, you know, great things happen. So we can go out there and win, and end the 2025 season with two wins, I think that’d be phenomenal.”
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