UCLA Football: What Bruins Must Do to Compete in Tougher Pac-12

For UCLA football, the task of competing in a changing Pac-12 landscape is a challenging proposition.

When Jim Mora was hired as head coach before the 2012 season, the conference was in a state of flux. The South Division sent a 6-6 UCLA team to the inaugural conference championship in lieu of a USC team serving NCAA sanctions.

And those sanctions helped weaken the Trojans, presenting an opportunity to take over the Los Angeles football scene, which the Bruins pounced on. 

"I already said it: UCLA runs L.A.," quarterback Brett Hundley said on Nov. 22 following UCLA's third straight win in the series against USC. 

Hundley is on his way out after three excellent seasons, but Mora and his staff remain. And Mora is 28-11 in three seasons with the Bruins, including just completing the program's second straight with 10 wins.

He also returns a veteran, talented roster in 2015, many of whom shined in the Bruins' 10th win of the 2014 season: A 40-35 defeat of Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl. 

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"You look at [linebacker] Myles [Jack] here. Myles is a sophomore," Mora said, per ASAPSports.com. "You look at [running back Paul Perkins], and Perk is a sophomore, and so I think the future looks bright for UCLA football."

Linebacker Deon Hollins, who Mora called "our most improved defensive player this year," culminated that improvement with a three-sack Alamo Bowl.     

UCLA has reason to be optimistic, but cautiously so. The Bruins cannot let their historic run of success turn to complacency as the conference gets increasingly more challenging. 

Keep Pace Ahead of the South 

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UCLA was one of four teams in the league—and three in the division alone—that ousted its head coach and was starting over. Thanks to the solid recruiting of Mora's predecessor, Rick Neuheisel, the new regime inherited a well-stocked program that won a divisional title in the first season. 

South Division competition has been of little consequence for UCLA the last three seasons.

Mora is 2-1 against Arizona State and Todd Graham, 3-0 against Arizona and Rich Rodriguez and 3-0 against USC with two wins head-to-head against Steve Sarkisian, the first coming in Sarkisian's time at Washington. 

But each program has shown growth under its head coach. Arizona and Arizona State each won 10 games this season while USC currently boasts the Pac-12's most highly rated 2015 recruiting class. 

All three teams finished the regular season ranked in the final College Football Playoff standings, and they will all assuredly be included in next week's final Associated Press Top 25. 

Add Utah, and 20 percent of the national rankings is made up of the Pac-12 South. This division is a far cry from the island of misfit teams it was when Mora and Co. first arrived. 

Remaining in the hunt for conference championships means staying ahead of a curve that keeps getting steeper. 

Balancing Speed and Strength 

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Stanford's size and physicality and Oregon's speed are on two opposite ends of the football spectrum, yet both have posed UCLA immense trouble under Mora.

UCLA is fast—Mora preaches tempo, and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone obliges with a no-huddle style that produced 992 snaps in the 2014 campaign. 

The Bruins also play physical. After the USC win, linebacker Eric Kendricks said of the current team, "We go hard." 

"When coach Mora came in, we preached a hard-[nosed] mentality," he said. 

But lopsided losses to the Cardinal and Ducks exposed the Bruins' need to get better in both regards.

UCLA's hurry-up offense suffered from stretches of dormancy this season, most recently going nearly 28 minutes without a touchdown in last week's Alamo Bowl.

As far as physicality, the Bruins' deficiencies there were most evident in critical losses to Utah and Stanford. Both bullied UCLA on each line, but especially the Bruins offensive line.

Utah got to Hundley for 10 sacks in its Oct. 4 win at the Rose Bowl while Stanford brought down the UCLA quarterback five times. 

"[Stanford's] defense is always a physical, strong defense. Their strength coach does a good job of building those guys up," UCLA center Jake Brendel said following the loss, the Bruins' fourth to the Cardinal in three seasons. 

Adopting the same philosophy on getting strong without sacrificing emphasis on speed is a key in UCLA taking that next step to title contention. 

Stay Aggressive in Recruiting 

With USC charging ahead in the Pac-12's recruiting race, the pressure is on Mora and his staff now more than ever to get aggressive. 

UCLA is doing a fine job with its 2015 class, sitting at No. 2 in the conference and No. 15 in the nation approximately a month ahead of national signing day. 

How UCLA finishes in the coming weeks will set the tone going forward. Mora has favored a national approach, but the Bruins' presence in Southern California will determine the strength of UCLA signing classes in the years to come. 

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics courtesy of CFBstats.com. Recruiting rankings and information via 247Sports.