UCLA Football: Bears QB Fernando Mendoza Was Confident Ahead Of Team's Late Season Turnaround

Your UCLA Bruins walked off the Rose Bowl field for the final time this season, with their heads hanging low after a frustrating defeat to the Cal Golden Bears. The final score was 33-7, and it was a tough night all around for UCLA.

Their offense couldn't build up anything consistently, and it cost them. Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza spoke about the team's success in the later parts of the season after the game. 

“Not a lot of people believed in us, especially when we said in the interviews that we were going to burn the boats (beat Washington State) and burn the forest (defeat Stanford) and then now burn the city (beat UCLA). It was more of a lot of people probably thought that we just saying that for good media presence and having a positive mindset,” Mendoza said. “But everyone in that locker room really believed that and we knew that was gonna happen.”

Per Fernando Mendoza via The Associated Press

While he didn't play overly well against the Bruins, he did just enough to get the win. He threw for 178 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions on the night. With the win, Cal became bowl-eligible and could find themselves moving ahead of UCLA in tie-breaking scenarios for bowl selection.

The Bruins defense could only muster one sack in the game on Mendoza, and that speaks volumes to how the game went. The defense had been the calling card for this team over the course of the season, but against Cal, they fell flat.

UCLA now heads into their summer after this dud of a game, and they know they let one slip away. It was a massive letdown after their win over USC last week, and they will have to live with the results all offseason.

Don't forget to join our community at LA Sports Report, where we celebrate all things Bruins!