The No. 17-ranked UCLA football team will look to stop a two-game skid Friday when it finishes up the regular season on the road against California.
The Bruins (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12 Conference) have stumbled to the end of what looked like a special season just weeks ago, when it had its sights set on competing for a conference title. Instead, UCLA is now just looking to play its way into one of the better bowl games with Pac-12 ties.
The Golden Bears (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12) stopped a six-game losing streak in last week’s come-from-behind 27-20 win against Stanford. Cal scored 21 fourth-quarter points to stun its rival.
Here’s what to watch for when the two teams kick off their matchup at 1:30 p.m. in Berkeley:
Program history at stake
On a number of occasions this season, Bruins head coach Chip Kelly said his team would only pick its heads up at the end of the season to see where they are in any standings or rankings.
That will be put to the test in a post-Thanksgiving contest just six days after a 48-45 loss to rival USC knocked UCLA out of contention for the Pac-12 championship game and dashed its Rose Bowl dreams.
There is, however, more at stake than just personal pride to finish the regular season on a high note. A win would keep the Bruins on track for an opportunity to match the program’s best single-season win total (if it beats Cal and wins the bowl game). Nine previous UCLA teams have notched 10-win seasons, with the last occurrence coming in 2014 under Jim Mora.
A ninth win would also be the best mark under Kelly after last season’s eight-win campaign. But he’s not ready to look ahead.
“Ten (wins) doesn’t mean anything unless you get to nine,” Kelly said, “so we never get ahead of ourselves or talk about anything longer than that.”
