Mora Ugly Defensiveness Over Bad Football

We saw hints of the ugly, bullying, combative Jim Mora immediately following the lackluster win over Colorado yesterday. Anyone hoping cooler heads would prevail with a night to sleep on it will probably be pretty disappointed by Mora's Sunday teleconference.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Jim Mora on the recent criticism: &quot;Let&#39;s all remember the last game that UCLA played before this whole thing started was 50-0 ass kicking.&quot;</p>&mdash; Edward Lewis (@EdwardLewisBSR) <a href="https://twitter.com/EdwardLewisBSR/status/526531012646289409">October 27, 2014</a></blockquote>

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Leaving aside the historical inaccuracy (there were actually two more games following the 0-50 beatdown) and the followup questions those games unearth (like the fact that the game after 0-50 was the P12 Title Game, which puts Rick on even footing with you in that department, Jim), look at the awful message this is sending. The fact that we're bumbling and stumbling our way through this "Show Me" season, where we don't even control our own destiny for one frickin half of our own conference, is okay because three years ago we lost a game by 50 points?

I'd be far more sympathetic to that argument if beating the Trogans under sanctions wasn't the only tangible difference he can point to on the scoreboard from his predecessor. Still waiting for that win over an elite team, Jim. Furthermore, whatever happened to the #BruinRevolution? Jim and the sunshine pumpers were more than happy to play into the prospect of having an elite team this year in the preseason (if not explicitly, then by way of quiet confidence) as a way of justifying this as a successful hire. I didn't hear any caveats and concerns then. Now they can't backtrack and revise history fast enough.

"Of course we were overrated, how could anyone think differently?"

"It's all the most talented QB we've had in a decade and a half's fault that the entire team commits stupid penalties, is ridiculously undisciplined, and constantly plays down to its competition, as it has done for the past three years"

It's enough to give you whiplash. And nausea.

You'd think after all that time over the past three years talking about the things we need to "clean up", he'd actually spend his time doing that, rather than doing the heavy lifting of moving the goalposts. We know all about what he thinks his players can't do or what they need to do better. When it comes to what he and his coaching staff need to do differently? Coach Speak and deflection. Ugly, ugly stuff.