The game was obviously being officiated tight and the refs made it abundantly clear that they were not interested in any unsportsmanlike behaviors. They were consistent, and for the most part, seemed to be sending CU a message in the first half. They had like 4 unsportsmanlike penalties in a row.
Now, a smart, aware, and well coached football team will seize upon that opportunity and play a clean game if their opponents are getting penalized and seem to be uncomfortable. But...not UCLA yesterday. When Jaleel Wadood made an assisted tackle 9 yards down the field, and he tried to be a tough guy by shoving Sefo Liufao into the turf right in front of the damn ref, his ass should have been yanked from the game, chewed out in front of everyone, and sat on the coldest seat on the bench for the rest of the game.
But no...they left him in. He didn't miss a single play.
When the CU safety Moeller made a similar mistake, Coach Mac went at him sideways, TWICE, before sending him to the bench. I think he came back later, but not before getting blasted on live TV by his irate coach and punished to the extent where he looked like a toddler who just got sent to the corner. Coach Mac also made it pretty clear that his guys are going to be punished because he was disappointed in them not upholding his standards of behavior and respect on the field. Mora, however, made no such comments.
Mora not doing anything when Wadood did that (or later with Jayon), sends the worst type of message to the team. It also became painfully clear the difference between the quality of the coaching staff of CU and the standards they have set within their program, and ours. Our coaches clearly don't care about programmatic discipline. The fake tough guy BS is played out, its over (like warming up in the other teams area, berating refs, spending an entire quarter arguing with refs in the ASU game last year instead of actually coaching, running onto the field when the home team does, celebrating every single play like its the biggest play you've ever made, wagging your finger when you didn't even impact the pass breakup, etc etc etc). The only type of discipline we've seen is secret, silent suspensions for alleged drug use. But when it comes to football discipline, they don't care for it. And that's what loses games, seasons, jobs.
For me, lack of discipline in the program is the worst possible sign. I don't think I've ever seen a game where a team commits 12 penalties for 120 yards, turns it over 4 times, and yet, wins the game. CU didn't deserve this one. All UCLA has to do is be disciplined, be smart, be AWARE of what the hell is going on around you, and you'll win. They handed it to UCLA, and our guys decided they'd rather engage in petty bullsh*t rather than win. And the worst of it all, our coaches let them make that decision with no consequences.
It's heartbreaking to see our program fall apart and embarrass themselves. It was shameful.
Now, a smart, aware, and well coached football team will seize upon that opportunity and play a clean game if their opponents are getting penalized and seem to be uncomfortable. But...not UCLA yesterday. When Jaleel Wadood made an assisted tackle 9 yards down the field, and he tried to be a tough guy by shoving Sefo Liufao into the turf right in front of the damn ref, his ass should have been yanked from the game, chewed out in front of everyone, and sat on the coldest seat on the bench for the rest of the game.
But no...they left him in. He didn't miss a single play.
When the CU safety Moeller made a similar mistake, Coach Mac went at him sideways, TWICE, before sending him to the bench. I think he came back later, but not before getting blasted on live TV by his irate coach and punished to the extent where he looked like a toddler who just got sent to the corner. Coach Mac also made it pretty clear that his guys are going to be punished because he was disappointed in them not upholding his standards of behavior and respect on the field. Mora, however, made no such comments.
Mora not doing anything when Wadood did that (or later with Jayon), sends the worst type of message to the team. It also became painfully clear the difference between the quality of the coaching staff of CU and the standards they have set within their program, and ours. Our coaches clearly don't care about programmatic discipline. The fake tough guy BS is played out, its over (like warming up in the other teams area, berating refs, spending an entire quarter arguing with refs in the ASU game last year instead of actually coaching, running onto the field when the home team does, celebrating every single play like its the biggest play you've ever made, wagging your finger when you didn't even impact the pass breakup, etc etc etc). The only type of discipline we've seen is secret, silent suspensions for alleged drug use. But when it comes to football discipline, they don't care for it. And that's what loses games, seasons, jobs.
For me, lack of discipline in the program is the worst possible sign. I don't think I've ever seen a game where a team commits 12 penalties for 120 yards, turns it over 4 times, and yet, wins the game. CU didn't deserve this one. All UCLA has to do is be disciplined, be smart, be AWARE of what the hell is going on around you, and you'll win. They handed it to UCLA, and our guys decided they'd rather engage in petty bullsh*t rather than win. And the worst of it all, our coaches let them make that decision with no consequences.
It's heartbreaking to see our program fall apart and embarrass themselves. It was shameful.
