Skipper says Bruins took step back

UCLA's interim coach will spend bye week getting team refocused for the Cornhuskers.

- BEN BOLCH

INTERIM coach Tim Skipper lamented the Bruins' inconsistent play at Indiana.

LUKE HALES Getty Images

The standard wasn't the standard.

After a month of disciplined, passionate football that included three consecutive wins and a feelgood vibe, UCLA did not exhibit those same characteristics while going splat against second-ranked Indiana.

"That would be like the most disappointing thing," interim coach Tim Skipper said Monday, two days after his team's 56-6 defeat, "is just our style of play wasn't what it's been - you didn't see the strain, you didn't see the fanatical effort, those type of things, and you're going to need to play that way when you play these top teams like we just did."

The only consistency the Bruins showed was in struggling across the board.

Their offense didn't score a touchdown for the first time this season. Their defense gave up a season high for points.

Skipper pinned much of his team's problems on getting beat at the line of scrimmage. UCLA gave up 262 yards rushing while gaining just 88 yards of its own on the ground.