💥 Welcome to Rock Bottom, Population: Bruins
There are losses, and then there are soul-sucking implosions that make you question everything you thought you knew about a program. UCLA’s 35-10 embarrassment at home against New Mexico wasn’t just a bad night — it was a full-blown crisis, a smoldering mess of penalties, missed assignments, and a general vibe of “we don’t belong here.”
The Lobos — yes, New Mexico — rolled into Pasadena as 15.5-point underdogs and proceeded to drag the Bruins through the dirt in front of an increasingly empty Rose Bowl. This wasn’t a fluke. It was domination in every phase. It was ugly. It was avoidable. And it might’ve been the final nail in the DeShaun Foster era before October.
📉 Game Flow: Or, How to Lose a Game in 60 Excruciating Minutes
It started like most UCLA games have in 2025 — with hope. A first-drive defensive stop. Maybe, just maybe, this would be the game where everything clicked. Spoiler: it wasn’t.
New Mexico bullied the Bruins up front from the jump, going up 14-0 without breaking a sweat. UCLA’s offense, meanwhile, looked like it was playing a different sport entirely. False starts, blown blocks, and a game plan that screamed “we didn’t think we’d need to try this hard” derailed any early momentum.
By halftime, the Bruins were somehow only down 14-7 thanks to a rare flash of competence from Nico Iamaleava and a defensive goal-line stand. But that little sliver of optimism? Gone faster than a Chip Kelly era hot take.
The second half was an avalanche of pain. New Mexico’s ground game ramped up to cheat-code levels, UCLA’s defense collapsed like a folding chair at a tailgate, and Foster’s team once again unraveled in real time.
👀 Star Players (Spoiler: They Weren’t Wearing Blue and Gold)
🧨 The Turning Point: Penalties and Panic
Midway through the third quarter, with UCLA trailing 21-10 but finally starting to show signs of life, the Bruins got into field goal range. And then? Back-to-back false starts. A delay of game. A drive that should’ve been 7 points ended in 3.
That sequence was UCLA football in 2025: self-inflicted wounds, followed by a collective shrug. It was the moment you realized that even when they do something right, they’ll find a way to mess it up.
Oh, and then they gave up another backbreaking touchdown. Naturally.
📊 Stats That Scream "Fire Alarm"
📉 What It All Means: The Foster Era Is Cooked
Let’s be blunt: DeShaun Foster isn’t the guy. Not right now. Not in this version of the universe. This team has no discipline, no edge, and no ability to respond when adversity hits.
He inherited a mess, sure. But the mess just got worse. UCLA was a 15.5-point favorite at home and got run off the field by a Mountain West team with zero fear and all the fight. Foster preached “D.R.E.” — Discipline, Respect, Execution. On Friday night, it looked more like “Doom, Regression, Embarrassment.”
With a bye week looming and a brutal Pac-12 slate ahead, the Bruins are staring down a 2-10 or even 1-11 season. That’s not a rebuild — that’s a catastrophe.
🎤 Closing Take: UCLA's Horror Show Wasn't Fiction
On a Friday night in Pasadena, while most fans were at home watching scary movies, the real horror was unfolding live at the Rose Bowl. UCLA wasn’t just bad — they were broken. And unlike most horror flicks, there's no final act twist here.
No hero. No redemption arc. Just 60 minutes of getting smacked by a team that wanted it more, prepared better, and executed cleaner.
Maybe it’s time to stop hoping for a turnaround and start preparing for a reset. Because this — this ain’t it.
Final: New Mexico 35, UCLA 10.
And somehow… it wasn’t even that close.
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