WESTWOOD—There are probably a lot of thoughts going through your head after seeing that horrific collapse the Bruins suffered in Strawberry Canyon October 9. Coming off three straight wins, including victories over Texas and Houston, UCLA football was riding high and things looked bright. Unfortunately, all it took was a 35-7 beating by Cal-Berkeley to bring everyone back down to earth.

People are starting to wonder again if the Bruins are for real or how they could look so dominant against Texas on the road, then fall flat on their faces in a match-up with a Cal team that had already been run out of the stadium by another pistol offense earlier in the season.

Despite all the negative thoughts going through the heads of Bruin fans around the country, there is one question they should not be asking themselves, “Will the Bruins be able to recover and still have a great season?”

The Bruins have already dealt with a lot of adversity this season and were able to regroup. Senior center Kai Maiava went down in training camp and fellow senior Ryan Taylor stepped up to fill the void. After a rough 0-2 start, Taylor and the rest of the O-line aka “The Filthy Five,” were responsible for digging the Bruins out of an early hole and putting them back in the win column.

Losing to Cal was without question a step in the wrong direction, but it doesn’t spell the end of the season for the Bruins. There are still six more games left on the schedule and that means six more chances for the Bruins to prove they deserve to be mentioned with the top teams in the country.

The road to redemption starts with Oregon on October 21. Both teams will be coming off a bye week to play a primetime Thursday night game on ESPN.

Depending on how things go between Ohio State and Wisconsin, Oregon could possibly be the number one ranked team in the country. I don’t have to explain to you how big of an opportunity this is for the Bruins. They will have a chance to show the world what the second half of the season is going to be like for UCLA football and the resilience they have as a team.

Even with some of the success UCLA has experienced this year there are still people out there who want to know what this football team is all about. On October 21 they will get their answer.