Tag: BIG Ten Conference

UCLA Bruins rank near bottom of latest Big Ten ranking

The Fox Sports ranking was not kind of the sliding Bruins.

The UCLA Bruins football season has been one of disappointment. Dead last in the Big Ten standings at 0-4, the 1-5 Bruins have been a consistent under-performer in their first season with the conference.

Fresh off a deflating loss to Minnesota, the Bruins look to reset against a scrappy Rutgers program this Saturday.

This week, Michael Cohen of Fox Sports has the Bruins next to last in his latest Big Ten ranking. Only ranking above 1-5 Purdue, the Bruins are an unfortunate “circled-win” on many Big Ten teams’ schedules.

Following UCLA’s latest loss, Cohen writes, “The Bruins’ defense surrendered a seven-play, 61-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes as Minnesota notched the winning score on a short pass from quarterback Max Brosmer to tailback Darius Taylor. Head coach DeShaun Foster’s team has failed to score 20 points in any game this season and now ranks 133rd in scoring at just 14.5 points per game.”

In desperate need of a win and a morale-booster, head coach DeShaun Foster and the Bruins head to New Brunswick, New Jersey, in hopes of finding answers to their Big Ten woes.

Reilly named Big Ten Setter of the Week for third time this season

The Nebraska setter won another conference award!

Nebraska setter Bergen Reilly was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week on Monday afternoon. This is the third time that Reilly won this award this season.

The sophomore helped the Huskers to a 3-2 win over the No. 10 Purdue Boilermakers and a 3-0 win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights last week. Reilly averaged 11.88 assists and 3.75 digs per set.

In the win against Purdue, the Sioux Falls, SD native set a career-high of 60 assists and 17 kills. In the sweep of Rutgers, she had 35 assists and 13 digs.

Reilly last won the Big Ten Setter of the Week award on Sep. 16, 2024. Oregon’s Mimi Colyer was named the conference Player of the Week, Minnesota’s Phoebe Awoleye was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and Penn State’s Izzy Starck was named the Freshman of the Week.

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Photos of UCLA’s tough loss to Minnesota

Through the lens after another loss…

The UCLA Bruins football team is now 1-5 on the year after a Week 7 loss to Minnesota at the Rose Bowl. 

UCLA was up 17-14 before Max Brosmer connected with Darius Taylor for the go-ahead touchdown in the closing seconds, causing heartbreak to fans hoping for the Bruins’ first Big Ten win.

Unfortunately, UCLA has to wait at least another week as they drop to 1-5 and have now lost five in a row since an opening weekend win over Hawaii.

It wasn’t a pretty performance by UCLA, although it wasn’t a blowout.

Nonetheless, here are some of the best photos from the game.

Ohio State’s loss to Oregon adds to the trend of Big Ten teams losing after traveling multiple time zones

There are exceptions, but Big Ten teams aren’t doing great this season with long road trips across at least two time zones.

The Big Ten Conference notably grew its number of members this year to now have 18 total, and we knew that would lead to a lot more travel for teams, especially having to go from coast to coast more often with Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA in the mix.

Travel potentially having an impact on the road team isn’t new, but this year with Big Ten teams flying across so many time zones, a trend has emerged — though it includes some notable Week 7 exceptions.

With No. 2 Ohio State’s 32-31 loss at No. 3 Oregon in Eugene but Minnesota’s 21-17 win over UCLA in Pasadena to close out Saturday night, Big Ten teams are now 3-10 this season when traveling across two or more time zones for a conference game.

The three Big Ten wins for the traveling teams came when Indiana topped UCLA on the road in Week 3, along with No. 6 Penn State’s 33-30 comeback win over USC in overtime in Los Angeles and Minnesota over UCLA on Saturday.

Big Ten teams were 1-8 going into Week 7 after then-No. 10 Michigan lost at Washington, then-No. 11 USC lost at Minnesota, Michigan State lost at Oregon and UCLA lost at Penn State in Week 6.

But Saturday, Washington lost at Iowa in the early slate of games before the Buckeyes dropped their first matchup of the season.

“I don’t really see it as much of a challenge that way,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said prior to the Oregon game, via the Associated Press. “It’s a four-and-a-half-hour flight, a couple more hours than Nebraska. We’re going to stay on our time schedule. The way the time of the game fits is kind of how we practice. We’re not going to look too much into it.”

Obviously, traveling at least two time zones doesn’t guarantee the road team will lose, and, of course, there are plenty of exceptions and other contributing factors here, like Oregon probably being a huge favorite against Michigan State regardless of travel.

More exceptions to the trend are likely to come. But it certainly seems like the expanded Big Ten and increased travel is having at least some impact on how these games play out.

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What exactly is wrong with Eric Bieniemy’s offense?

What is going on with the offense?

The UCLA Bruins coaching staff went through a large overhaul following the departure of head coach Chip Kelly. In his wake, the Bruins elevated running backs coach DeShaun Foster to head coach and hired Eric Bieniemy to head the offense.

Thus far, both have struggled mightily in the Big Ten.

The Bruins offense ranks 126th in points per game and 125th in yards per game in the country. Which begs the question: What is wrong?

To start, Bieniemy did not inherit an overly talented offense group. From passable receiver play to below-average offensive line success, UCLA is hardly one of the Big Ten’s most talented offensive rosters.

Though not the fault of Bieniemy, even teams stripped of high-end talent can devise schemes to generate offense and points. For Bieniemy, he and the Bruins have lacked in both categories.

Moreover, rather than running a varied or unique offense, many of Bieniemy’s play calls look very “vanilla.” With simple schemes and little misdirection, UCLA’s already depleted roster is very predictable. The combination of low-end talent and poor schemes is likely the culprit for UCLA’s anemic offense.

If by the end of the year, UCLA’s offense continues to show little sign of improvement Bieniemy could be in the hot seat much like Foster.

Can UCLA’s offense play a full game against Minnesota?

The Bruins nasty habit of losing steam is something to watch for against Minnesota

The UCLA offense has been consistent in the 2024 college football season and for all the wrong reasons. Struggling to put points on the board in the third and fourth quarters, UCLA’s comeback bids have been cut short by a lack of offensive production.

This week, the Bruins take on the 3-3 Minnesota Golden Gophers at home with a chance to right some of their wrongs on offense.

Writing for 247Sports, Tracy McDonald detailed the Bruins second-half slumps on offense and shed light on their problems producing points.

“UCLA and Louisiana State were tied 17-17 in the first half before the Bruins were shut out the rest of the way. UCLA then fell into a 28-3 hole against Oregon after failing to take care of the ball before the defense allowed just six second-half points. Then, the Bruins trailed just 7-3 late in the second quarter against Penn State before giving up a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the first half,” McDonald writes.

The Bruins have a massive opportunity this weekend to steer the team in the right direction and build momentum with a win. If UCLA can keep the game close at halftime, all eyes will be on offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to see if he and the offense can put points on the board at the Rose Bowl.

Why UCLA vs. Minnesota is important for DeShaun Foster

The Bruins face Minnesota with a lot on the line for DeShaun Foster.

Through the first five games of head coach DeShaun Foster’s tenure with the Bruins, UCLA has been underwhelming, if not disappointing.

Heading to University Park to take on  Minnesota this weekend looking to pull the upset, the Bruins sit at 1-4, coming off three straight relatively uncompetitive games.

Certainly, a win over the Golden Gophers would reinvigorate the locker room and instill confidence on both sides of the ball, but more importantly, Foster would emerge as UCLA’s head coach of the future rather than simply a placeholder.

Lauded for his ability to connect and coach young players this offseason, Foster has been more of a cheerleader for the Bruins than a coach this season.

Under Foster’s coaching, the UCLA Bruins have yet to establish anything remotely resembling a team identity, nor have Foster’s in-game coaching decisions stood out.

In short, Foster has yet to make a mark on the program.

It is easy to overreact, with Foster only coaching his fifth game this weekend, but a win on the road in a hostile environment could potentially help establish an identity, prove his coaching prowess, and potentially save his job.

Whether or not the Bruins win this weekend against Minnesota is largely inconsequential. Even in a losing effort, if Foster can show flashes of what he brings to the table as a coach, UCLA could gain a moral victory and conviction in their head coach.

DeShaun Foster addresses Penn State loss during Monday’s practice

DeShaun Foster chimes in on the loss.

The UCLA Bruins football program lost another tough Big Ten Conference game. This time, it came on the road against the Penn State Nittany Lions in a tough environment after a cross-country trip and without starting quarterback Ethan Garbers.

All in all, things could’ve been worse as Penn State got the 27-11 win. During Monday’s practice, Foster gave a statement on what he saw from that game and what they hope for going forward, per Mike Regalado of Bruin Report Online.

“Going over the film, you know, we were able to move the ball offensively. Didn’t really be able to get in the end zone the way that we wanted to. Time of possession was up. I was glad we were able to run the ball some, too, but we still gotta focus on the details. Defensively, they played a good game. We got a sack, a lot of pressures. Femi (Oladejo) coming off the edge, he played a really good game. Carson Schwesinger showed up as he always does. Jay (Toia) played well. So, we’re just trying to put together a full game and hopefully it will be this week that we do that.”

The good news is that UCLA has an easier opponent coming up with a game against Minnesota at the Rose Bowl. On the other hand, Minnesota just stunned USC in a shocking Big Ten result.

Photos from UCLA Bruins loss to Penn State

UCLA’s loss to Penn State through the lens.

The UCLA Bruins dropped their second-straight game to a Big Ten opponent on the road this week, falling to #7 Penn State 27-11 and the bottom of the standings.

Though the Bruins defense held its ground against a dynamic Nittany Lions offense, UCLA’s offense, on the other hand, played an unfortunately characteristic game. Accumulating only 260 yards of total offense, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s impact on the Bruins offense has yet to be seen.

Hopefully, with a quarterback change from the floundering Ethan Garbers to Justyn Martin, the Bruins could show some signs of life as their schedule gets softer down the stretch.

In the meantime, questions of DeShaun Foster’s legitimacy as a Big Ten-caliber coach remain. Here are the best photos from UCLA’s game at Penn State.

UCLA football loses to Penn State in embarassing fashion

UCLA dropped another Big Ten game after another dismal offensive performance.

The UCLA Bruins dropped their third straight game of the 2024 college football season to No. 7 Penn State 27-11. Their second-straight loss to a Big Ten opponent, after losing to Oregon last week, not even a quarterback change could bolster the Bruins offense.

Head coach DeShaun Foster made the change from the struggling Ethan Garbers to sophomore Justyn Martin, who finished with 167 yards on 22-30 passing with a touchdown. Though Martin showed some surprising success in a hostile environment, the change was not enough to be a deciding factor.

The Bruins offense mustered only 11 points, with eight of them scored within the final thirty seconds. Unable to run the ball once again, with the team accumulating a meager 93 yards on 29 carries, UCLA’s offense was as ugly as it was inefficient.

Where the Bruins go from here, however, will be interesting to watch unfold.

The quarterback change will likely stick, as the younger, more dynamic Martin offers the Bruins a higher upside with the potential to grow. But if UCLA’s offense continues to underwhelm, Bruins fans could be in for a long season as they take on a frisky Minnesota team at home in only one week.

Oct 5, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster claps his hands from the sideline during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images