After two straight losses, UCLA headed to Cal in must-win mode

Things have snowballed for UCLA football in recent weeks. That blowout win over Arizona State seems like it was ages ago and it's tough to remember after two poor performances at home the last two weeks.

A third straight loss is not an option. The good news is that the team feels the dire sense of urgency to fix the costly mistakes that have piled up over the last few weeks. But the bad news is that the Bruins are running out of time to fix them.

"A loss is a loss, the magnitude of it may change each week but now it's even more urgent that we win," said wide receiver Jordan Payton. "This one hurts. We put a lot of time and effort into understanding how big that game was and for us to go out there and kind of just play like we did is sad, it's hard, but that's what comes with this game and we understand that. Some things happen in life and that's adversity. You've just got to keep going and keep pushing and keep understanding that there's more to this."

The defense missed tackles and failed to stop the run. The offense couldn't finish drives. All three facets were slapped with penalties and with the penalties came frustrations. Sometimes they boiled over, sometimes they led to more mistakes.

Head coach Jim Mora has been adamant that the team has, in fact, cleaned up their issues with penalties but UCLA is still one of the most penalized teams in the FBS, ranking 98 out of 125 teams in fewest penalty yards.

"Holding and all of that, it's tough getting through that," said cornerback Ishmael Adams. "But it's a dogfight out there so you've got to do whatever you need to do. When they catch us on even the littlest penalties, there's nothing we can do about that. We can just keep on going out there and playing with great effort and not letting it get to us.

"If we can keep those penalties from bothering us, I feel like we can get to the next play faster."

If there's one silver lining to take from two dismal weeks, it's that the lofty expectations are no longer weighing on a team whose identity in the last two seasons has been one of an underdog. A dangerous underdog, yes, but it's the mindset that they found the most success with. The unheralded players proving everyone wrong, the less successful team in town and the team that no one expected to topple the college football heavyweights was the more the confident, hungrier version of the UCLA Bruins than whatever this version has been so far in 2014.

"It feels like the world is against you. When you lose two in a row it feels like you've lost 10," Payton said. "Now we have to do everything right. Now our backs are fully against the wall and we have to play well. To be honest with you, I like that mindset."

The next must-win game is Saturday in Berkeley -- a place where UCLA has historically struggled, having not won in Memorial Stadium since 1998. Exorcising those demons may prove to be a momentum booster.

If not, things may further unravel in Westwood.

"I don't know, it's some curse we have I guess," Payton said. "But we're excited to get up there and play. We need to get this sour taste out of our mouth. I know that I will be ready and I know that the receivers will be ready that UCLA football will be ready to play."