UCLA Football: The Biggest Disappointments for the Bruins in 2014

Jim Mora and the UCLA football team (9-3) finished the regular season ranked as the No. 15 team in the country. 

For most programs, this could be considered a very good season. Potential bowl game appearances could include the Valero Alamo Bowl or the Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl. 

Massive expectations were placed upon the team heading into the year. 

Signal-caller Brett Hundley was looked upon as one of the top players in the entire country. In fact, he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as a potential Heisman candidate. ESPN pundits Lee Corso and Desmond Howard even went as far as saying UCLA was going to win the National Championship. 

However, this year should be looked at as a general disappointment. 

Credit Mora for immensely increasing the quality of the program from a talent, productivity and perception standpoint. In three years, he's taken a spectacularly mediocre program and has turned it into one of the better teams in the Pac-12. 

UCLA will have won at least nine games in each of the past three seasons. Mora is also undefeated against crosstown rival Southern Cal in three meetings. There has never been a more successful three-year period ever in the history of the program. 

It truly does come with the territory. The more success a program has, the more open it becomes to scrutiny within the public eye. 

This piece will look at multiple disappointments that lead up to the ultimate "disappointment" that is this season.

The loss to Utah

There were various aspects of this game that should stick in Mora's proverbial craw.

Utah was a good team this year. Kyle Whittingham did a very nice job of putting together a team structured around a staunch defense and a strong running game. On the legs of running back Devontae Booker and a stellar defensive effort up front, the Utes upended the Bruins in the Rose Bowl by a score of 30-28.

Utah had limitations from an offensive perspective. The Utes opted to play reserve quarterback Kendal Thompson for virtually the entire game. 

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Without a ton of offensive weapons outside of Booker, there wasn't a whole lot Utah was going to do other than running the football. The combination of Booker and Thompson torched UCLA's defense for over 200 yards on the ground. There seemingly were no adjustments made from a defensive standpoint to slow the power running game—nor the zone read element brought to the table by Thompson. 

UCLA's offensive line also allowed an eye-popping 10 sacks to the Utah defensive front. A unit led by Hunter Dimick and Nate Orchard was very good. But are they really that good?

When comparing the talent levels of both teams, UCLA is the more talented and deeper squad. The fact UCLA lost this game to an unranked squad—and at home—is a major disappointment for a team ranked No. 8 at the time. 

The loss to Stanford

Stanford has been a monkey on Mora's back ever since he took over in Westwood. UCLA has played Stanford multiple times over the past three years—and in each contest, the Cardinal has imposed its will in a very physical form. 

This year was supposed to be different. Heading into the final game of the season, Stanford was a paltry 6-5. It looked nothing like the team that had dominated the Pac-12 North Division the last several seasons. 

On the other side of the coin, UCLA had a ton to play for. Thanks to an Oregon State upset of Arizona State, UCLA controlled its own destiny. A win versus Stanford would propel the Bruins into the Pac-12 Championship Game versus Oregon. 

A win in the title game, and the Bruins would likely sneak into the College Football Playoff as the fourth team. 

However, it wasn't meant to be. In what was the most important game of the year, UCLA played its worst game of the year. The Bruins were absolutely thumped at home versus another unranked opponent. The final score was 31-10—and it wasn't even that close. 

Stanford had nothing to play for, and UCLA had everything to play for. Moreover, there was an apparent (and shocking) lack of energy and urgency from the Bruins' sideline. 

This game provided the opportunity for Mora to shake the Stanford curse and perhaps take his program to new heights. Instead, he has now lost four straight contests against David Shaw's team. 

Not Being Able to Handle the Expectations Well

This is perhaps the biggest disappointment—but it's also one which is the most understandable. 

UCLA is a very young team. There are only three senior starters (Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Anthony Jefferson, Eric Kendricks) graduating this season. The depth chart is primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores.

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Naturally for such an inexperienced team, a false sense of confidence could creep in—especially with the inordinate amount of praise UCLA was garnering in the offseason. There isn't any way to tangibly quantify this claim, but there's a good chance UCLA read its press clippings a bit too much. 

A pseudo reality show on the Pac-12 Network entitled The Drive also filmed UCLA on a daily basis. 

The ability—or inability—to handle the vast expectations crippled this team. UCLA desperately needs to find consistency in this category. It is a learning process, especially for program not generally in a position associated with potential national championship implications. 

Going forward, UCLA will have to continue to monitor and manage these newfound expectations brought upon the program by the relative success over the past three years.