Embrace the hurt. Sit with the discomfort. Marinate in the misery.
That was the essence of UCLA coach DeShaun Foster’s message to his team after the Bruins on Saturday absorbed their worst loss in a home opener since a 35-0 beatdown by Stanford in 2010.
“I just told them to keep that feeling that you had as soon as the game was over,” Foster said Monday, referring to the Bruins’ 42-13 loss to Indiana at the Rose Bowl. “Bottle it up and have it out here every day this week and find a way to just not have that feeling.”
The Bruins might have felt a little too down Monday based on their subdued start to practice. During the roughly half hour of the session open to reporters, players ran through drills in a perfunctory manner. Normally chatty coaches were quiet.
Running back T.J. Harden said the mood eventually lightened as players realized they couldn’t drag their way to success as the Bruins (1-1) started preparations for a nonconference game against No. 16 Louisiana State (2-1) on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
“We can’t just hang our heads low about last game,” Harden said. “We gotta move forward to this one.”
There was a lot to process two days after that stinker of a home opener. Defensive lineman Sitiveni Havili Kaufusi said things got “a little emotional” in the locker room, though fellow defensive lineman Jay Toia was among the players who rallied teammates by speaking about necessary changes.
“He really just said like we’ve just got to play for each other more,” Havili Kaufusi said, “and emphasizing that sick feeling you get from losing, we’re all competitors on this team and we don’t want to feel that way again.”
Oddsmakers expect the Bruins to keep feeling the pain. UCLA is a 22 1/2-point underdog against LSU and will likely see similar lines for upcoming games against No. 9 Oregon and No. 10 Penn State.
Foster said he was encouraged that a slew of players reported to the practice facility Sunday to watch film during a scheduled off day. What was in the footage that made them wince? Near the top of the list was an offense that is averaging 14.5 points per game behind a fifth-year quarterback who has struggled and a run game that has sputtered.
As far as Foster was concerned, the issue wasn’t a new West Coast offense that’s too complex for college players or the wrong calls in the wrong situations. According to Foster, the problem started with the e-word.
“It’s really just the execution of it, the plays,” Foster said, “because if we ran something later on in the game and it worked, then it’s the execution, so it’s truly just getting out there and executing and stop beating ourselves.”
Foster dismissed the idea that he and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy were specially equipped to fix a run game that has produced 83.5 yards per game — ranking No. 122 out of 133 major college teams — because they played in the NFL.
“Anybody can run the ball,” Foster said. “Coach [Chip] Kelly ran the ball and he didn’t play running back, so you guys are putting more on it than anything, but the run game’s going to be fixed.”
LSU’s defense might present 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 gonna figure it out,” Harden said. “We’re gonna figure it out, how to like zag across the finish line as a group collectively.”
Said Foster: “The best thing about this whole thing is that — in what, six days? — we get another game.”
Etc.
Foster would not comment on the status of injured defensive lineman Keanu Williams and defensive back Kanye Clark. Williams was spotted with a protective boot on one foot after departing the game Saturday and Clark was hurt on kickoff coverage.
