When a program wins three national titles in four years, everyone’s chasing them. So it’s not too surprising UCLA coach Jim Mora pointed to Alabama when asked on Thursday’s Dan Patrick Show about what programs his No. 9 Bruins try to emulate.
“We want to be a team that can get in tight games and somehow pull it out at the end,” Mora said. “I think if you look at a mindset, maybe, you point towards Alabama and what they do. They’re big and physical and tough and they find a way to win when they have to win.”
Of course, it’s easy to point toward Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide as to what a coach wants his program to do. Brian Kelly has done it (calling Alabama the “blueprint” for success) since Alabama blew the doors off Notre Dame in the BCS Championship last January.
That Alabama mentality is what UCLA is aiming for this weekend against No. 13 Stanford, which is favored by six at home despite last week’s loss to Utah. But Mora’s challenge doesn’t end with this weekend -- after traveling to Palo Alto on Saturday, UCLA heads to Eugene to face Oregon on Oct. 26.
At 5-0, UCLA is hitting the meat of its schedule, with those back-to-back haymakers preceding home games against Washington and Arizona State in November that could determine its fate in the Pac-12 South.
Watch Mora’s complete interview with Dan Patrick below: