Soobum Im – USA TODAY Sports
The UCLA Bruins were fortunate to come away with a victory on Friday night over the Kansas State Wildcats, almost losing a 25-point lead. In what has been the case all season, the Bruins were unable to put together four strong quarters, instead playing a dominating first half followed by a less than average effort in the second.
Unfortunately, this has been a problem for the Bruins all season long. They entered the season with extremely high expectations, but never put together a full game until they lost two games midway through the year. They finally stepped up and got hot, only to falter in their last game, ruining their chances at the playoffs.
They will lose key players in Brett Hundley, Eric Kendricks and Owamagbe Odighizuwa, but are still an extremely young team who return a ton of talent. Replacing a top quarterback and one of the best linebackers in the country will no doubt be difficult, and there will always be questions about whether or not the coaching staff will all decide to return.
With the number of playmakers on the roster, the Bruins should once again be facing high expectations for next year, especially after beating a highly-ranked opponent in the Wildcats. But if they are to finally take that next leap, they will need to start putting together four quarters of football to become one of the elite teams.
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