A year ago, UCLA was on the verge of Hawaiian humiliation in its season opener.
The offense plodded. The defense was a blooper reel, committing three penalties on the same play. The special teams failed to put enough players on the field, leading to a busted punt coverage.
Shakiest of all might have been the coach.
Having starred as a running back and assistant coach, DeShaun Foster stumbled in his head-coaching debut. Appearing as disorganized and unprepared as his team, Foster didn’t know the proper way to address reporters after his team rallied to beat Hawaii, asking a media relations staff member for help.