UCLA doesn’t want to get mowed down on its own lawn again
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UCLA would like to make some home improvements this week.
The No. 22 Bruins are 3-0 on the road in Pac-12 play, but are 0-2 at the Rose Bowl heading into Saturday’s game against No. 12 Arizona.
“I hate losing, period, but losing at home is double bad,” Coach Jim Mora said. “First, you lost. Second, you let your fans down that are out there spending their days supporting you.”
UCLA has a 131-54-2 record, good for a .708 winning percentage, since moving to the Rose Bowl in 1982. The Bruins have had only one losing season at home since, when they went 3-4 in 2008.
To be fair, UCLA’s two home losses this season were to No. 5 Oregon and No. 17 Utah. The Utes walked off with a 30-28 victory when the Bruins missed a 50-yard field goal on the last play.
Still, UCLA struggled in its only other home game this season, holding off a mediocre Memphis team, 42-35.
Quarterback Brett Hundley has a solution this week.
“We’re going lock the gates” on Arizona, Hundley said. “We got to. Those two games hurt.”
Home cooking has left a bad taste for Pac-12 teams this season. Visiting teams are 19-9 in conference play. The South Division is particularly effective on foreign soil -- or field turf -- going 11-3.
Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and Utah have yet to lose on the road in conference play.
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Mora said.
Saturday would be a good day to come up with an answer.
“We got to come out, play our game, that’s one thing,” Hundley said. “We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot. We can’t have penalties.”
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