UCLA HC Admits What Went Wrong in Blowout Indiana Loss

"So we need to figure out that we need to practice hard and we need to play hard and our style of pay needs to be consistent all the time.

"And that would be the most disappointing thing, is just our styler of play wasn't what it's been. You didn't see the strain. You didn't see the fanatical effort. Those type of things. And you're going to need to play that way when you play these top teams like we just did."

The Bruins were stunned, outplayed, outcoached and outmatched against Cignetti and the Hoosiers, who continue to rise among the college ranks. Cignetti reminded UCLA fans what a truly elite coach and program builder looks like.

UCLA Needs a Cignetti

In the midst of Skipper's illustrious turnaround in Westwood, Saturday's loss just gave more proof that UCLA needs to go out and hire the Cignetti archetype.

Skipper's job turning the Bruins around turned Westwood into one of the more appealing destinations on the coaching carousel. That was until yet another massive domino fell with LSU firing head coach Brian Kelly.

The LSU gig immediately becomes one of, if not the, most appealing jobs on the market, so where does that slot UCLA now?

The Athletic's Chris Vannini revisited the best openings in college football, and an updated view of his rankings looks like this:

1. LSU
2. Penn State
3. Florida
4. Arkansas
5. UCLA
6. Oklahoma State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Stanford
9. Oregon State
10. Colorado State
11. UAB
12. Kent State

The Athletic's estimated valuation of UCLA is set at $343 million, which ties it for 43rd among Power 4 programs. Vannini gave the Bruins' vacancy a B grade. Here's what he had to say:

• "The idea of UCLA has long seemed better than the reality of UCLA. The Bruins haven’t won a conference championship since 1998 and haven’t posted a 10-win season in more than a decade. Fan apathy is showing up in the attendance figures at the Rose Bowl, and the athletic department’s financial problems have been piling up — the Bruins have been operating at a cumulative deficit of over $200 million over the last five years.

• "But it’s a Big Ten job in Southern California. That doesn’t mean all Big Ten jobs are better than all ACC or Big 12 jobs. But it means the Bruins’ ceiling and the floor should be higher, and the path to success is easy to envision.

• "The school needs a coach capable of setting up a better recruiting operation in California and exciting the fans and donors to spend for success. The expectation should be annual bowl games with periodic 10-win seasons."