Following a devastating 35-10 loss to New Mexico on Friday, the UCLA Bruins (0-3, 0-0 Big Ten) have one of the darkest season outlooks in all of college football.
The good thing is that UCLA acknowledges that. Second-year head coach DeShaun Foster was fired, and the Bruins' administration is beginning a thorough search for his replacement.
In the meantime, though, the program will have to take all the criticism. ESPN's Kyle Bonagura lambasted the Bruins in the outlet's takeaways from Week 3, stating that, "UCLA is a disaster."
Here's all he had to say:
" When UCLA opted to leave the Pac-12 and head to the greener pastures of the Big Ten, it was a decision rooted in money and football. At the time, maybe it was possible to reason that with a full share of the Big Ten media deal, there would be enough money to help the Bruins at least be competitive in their new conference. Keep in mind, they had not won a conference title in the Pac-12 since 1998. What has played out since then has been nothing short of an embarrassment for the school.
"The Bruins' latest setback came Friday night as they were demoralized in a near-empty Rose Bowl by New Mexico -- a school that wasn't even invited to the new-look Pac-12. It was UCLA's second straight loss to a Mountain West team and delivered a clear verdict that DeShaun Foster was not fit to continue as the head coach. His firing became official Sunday morning.
"According to ESPN Analytics, UCLA will be a heavy underdog in all 10 of its Big Ten games this season, with ESPN's matchup predictor identifying its game against Maryland as the best shot at a win (34%). Under Chip Kelly in 2018, UCLA equaled its record for losses in a season (nine). This team has a chance to sail past that number."
Martin Jarmond, UCLA athletic director, and Erin Adkins, senior associate athletics director, will be compiling a committee of "accomplished sports and business executives and UCLA greats" to aid in the search for the next head coach.
In a virtual call with local media hours after dismissing Foster, Jarmond detailed what exactly he's looking for in the Bruins' next head football coach.
"You know, first and foremost, it’s got to be someone who exemplars our true Bruin values–respect, integrity and just understands those four letters," Jarmond said. "But we’ll be looking for a coach quite frankly who sees the vision to take UCLA to the playoffs."
"We want to win at the highest level. Someone who has confidence in that vision and the attitude and the skills to see it through. That said, I’m focused right now on the current, but make no mistake, we want more for our program. I expect more for our program, I expect more for our fans and we’re going to do what’s best and necessary to invest and position this program for excellence."
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