Compared to the way the season started out, UCLA QB Brett Hundley hasn’t had the easiest two-week stretch in his last two outings. Early on in the season while UCLA looked as if they might be a legitimate national contender, not just a Pac-12 one, Hundley was playing as if a trip to New York in December for the Heisman ceremony may be in the cards.
That was until he ran into Stanford and Oregon and he and his team were quickly brought back down to earth.
In those two games combined, the redshirt sophomore was just 37-of-58 through the air with only two touchdowns and four interceptions. He, and the Bruins, just looked outmatched against the definitive top two teams in the Pac-12 and it was a clear wake up call that they’re not where they need to be just yet.
So, you would imagine that the quarterback’s confidence would take a bit of a hit after those two outings. Of course it will, and his head coach, Jim Mora, had no problem addressing that recently:
"“I’m not going to dance around it,” Mora told the Daily News. “I do (worry). When you absorb the offensive line losses that we’ve absorbed, and you’re a quarterback, whether you want it to or not, it has an effect on you.”"
Some people might not agree with Mora coming right out and saying this, but it actually isn’t bad for him to acknowledge it whatsoever. Those two losses were character-building occurrences for an obviously talented football player. It’s all about how he picks himself up now, and he and his coach know that.
He’ll certainly have a great opportunity to gain some of that confidence back this week when UCLA takes on Colorado.