In December, DeShaun Foster touted mass turnover as a reason to think he could win big in Year 2, citing the quick turnaround at Colorado under Deion Sanders.

On Saturday, UCLA’s football coach used mass turnover as an explanation for his team’s 0-2 start.

“I have a lot of new people,” Foster said after his team’s 30-23 loss to Nevada Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium left it as the only winless team in the Big Ten. “I’m not somebody who’s going to come up here and give you guys excuses and everything, but I have a lot of new people and we’re still finding ways to come together and really rely on each other and we’re going to continue to build and it’s a long season.”

In other words, said a coach making $3.1 million this season, don’t blame me.

Somebody needs to take accountability for spending all this money on such a lifeless product. New UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk posted a picture of himself at the season opener against Utah on social media, calling it a “blast” to cheer on the team, which was an admirable show of support in tough circumstances.

They just got a lot tougher for everyone in blue and gold.

Asked about his restrictive media policies before the season, Foster said winning would do the marketing for his team. Well, how’s that going?

There’s a real chance that the actual crowd inside the Rose Bowl on Friday night when the Bruins face New Mexico (1-1) could fall below 10,000, setting a record low.

Importing 57 new players on any team is going to lead to some misses, but it’s already apparent that UCLA’s talent evaluation was way off the mark. Maybe there was a reason a group filled with transfers coming off injuries and underwhelming starts to their college careers was available.

Compounding this situation in some fans’ eyes is the fact that these players are now getting paid — in some cases making CEO money — to play for a team that looks so woefully unprepared and undertalented, having fallen behind 20-0 against Utah and 23-0 against UNLV.

While quarterback Nico Iamaleava hasn’t been the savior some envisioned after arriving from Tennessee, he also hasn’t been the problem. He’s made some mistakes while also playing at a high enough level to win if he was surrounded by more talent.

He’s also been perhaps the only one associated with the team to take a measure of responsibility for UCLA’s worst start since it lost its first three games in 2019.

“I think that just starts with me, man,” Iamaleava said of the slow starts leading to losses. “I gotta be better coming out. I started off a little slow on the first drive coming out. And, yeah, I think overall, man, we got to clean up a lot of stuff.”

To their credit, UCLA coaches tried making some personnel changes after that clunker of a season opener. Edge rusher Kechaun Bennett and linebacker Isaiah Chisom moved into the starting lineup, and things started to coalesce on both sides of the ball in the second half while the Bruins outscored the Rebels, 20-7. (There was also some puzzling use of the running backs rotation when UCLA failed to score a touchdown after getting a first and goal at the UNLV one-yard line, but we digress.)

The bottom line is that there was a reason UNLV’s last win over a Big Ten team before Saturday had come in 2003 — the Rebels play in the Mountain West Conference and have far fewer resources than their Power Four conference counterparts.

So where do the Bruins go from here? Rebound and beat New Mexico before a smattering of friends and family on the way to four or five wins? Would that be good enough?

Somebody needs to step up and tell UCLA fans why they should still care about this team and spend money on a product that, frankly, isn’t even mediocre right now.

Kicker Mateen Bhaghani during the Iowa game last year.

(MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images / MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

Let’s just say if your kids got these kinds of grades two weeks into the school year, you’d be calling for a parent-teacher conference ASAP.

Quarterbacks: B. Iamaleava sparked his team’s comeback but also threw the pass that sealed defeat. It’s more than a little concerning that he’s the team’s leading rusher through two games.

Running backs: D. Jalen Berger was probably not the best option on those goal-line plays that came up empty. Jaivian Thomas and Anthony Woods need to be the guys moving forward.

Receivers: C. Kwazi Gilmer flashed his big-play potential again with a juggling catch and ability to continually generate separation. But it doesn’t appear he’ll need to clear room on the mantle for the Biletnikoff Award.

Offensive line: D. The lineup shuffle with Garrett DiGiorgio at left tackle and Reuben Unije at right tackle appears to be the way the rest of the season. But guard Julian Armella can’t keep committing dumb penalties.

Defensive line: C-. The Bruins got a sack! The Bruins got a sack! Sacks by Bennett and Anthony Jones that represented the team’s first of the season did little to mask the ongoing issues in generating a consistent pass rush.

Linebackers: C-. JonJon Vaughns has logged double digits in tackles in consecutive games, but does it matter when you’re 0-2?

Defensive backs: D. Getting burned by UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea for three touchdowns is not acceptable.

Special teams: B+. Kicker Mateen Bhaghani, now four for four on field goals, is on pace to be the team MVP.

Coaching: F. There’s no way you can justify falling behind 23-0 to UNLV one week after that abomination of a season opener.

Olympic sport spotlight: Men’s water polo

Ben Liechty was also a standout water polo player at Newport Harbor High.

(Raul Roa)

The best team in the country rolls on.

Having already beaten No. 14 Cal Baptist, No. 19 George Washington, No. 12 UC San Diego, No. 14 UC Davis and No. 20 Navy, the top-ranked UCLA men’s water polo team notched its most impressive victory of the season Saturday with a 16-9 victory over No. 4 Fordham.

For good measure, the Bruins added a 24-10 romp over Bucknell later in the day.

The Bruins (7-0) have been so dominant that they have posted 10 or more different scorers in every game this season. Redshirt senior Chase Dodd and junior Ben Liechty led the way against Fordham with one goal and three assists apiece.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for UCLA, which plays No. 7 UC Irvine in its home opener at noon Friday before facing No. 16 Harvard later in the day. Might Bruins fans have a better time showing up at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center than the Rose Bowl?

Opinion time

Who is most culpable for the state of UCLA football?

Coach DeShaun Foster

Athletic director Martin Jarmond

Former chancellor Gene Block

The college football gods

Click here to vote in our survey

Poll results

We asked last Monday, “Does UCLA’s football team rally immediately against the soft pocket of its schedule, or fall further into despair before facing Penn State on Oct. 4 at the Rose Bowl?” The results, after 607 votes:

The Bruins go 2-1 over their next three games, 38.9%
The Bruins go 1-2 over their next three games, 29.1%
The Bruins go 3-0 over their next three games, 21.1%
The Bruins go 0-3 over their next three games, 10.9%

In case you missed it

UCLA backup quarterback Pierce Clarkson arrested on felony charges

UCLA’s loss to UNLV showcases its plethora of problems once again

Think attendance is bad at the Rose Bowl? It may be worse than you imagined

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on X @latbbolch. To order an autographed copy of my book, “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” send me an email. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.