This team can be judged only on slip-sliding scale

This time, at least they showed up.

This time, at least the UCLA football team, sputtering and twisting and sliding after last week's meltdown, made it somewhat close.

The scoreboard read 31-10 at the end of the Bruins' Saturday loss to Arizona. Coming off four quarters that finished up 59-0 against Brigham Young in Provo, Utah, 31-10 can be reframed as a major step in the right direction.

Given what the Bruins have to work with this season, that's how it must be taken.

Wins and losses? Fuhgetaboutit. At the moment, fretting too much about winning and losing is frivolous. You don't worry about the sound of your muffler when the car you're in is speeding toward the edge of a cliff.

Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker perhaps said it best when he surveyed the postgame damage and said: "To me, getting better is more important than wins and losses right now."

In other words, what matters is whether or not UCLA's revamped coaching staff can make this team better, snap by snap, series by series. Players showing heart, guts and concentration on the field. Learning to hit open receivers, covering punts, running the ball with consistency and that most essential of football skills, tackling.

Asking more wouldn't be fair, largely because UCLA just doesn't have the talent right now. The Bruins hung in last year after injuries forced them to play second stringers and their fourth-best quarterback in big games. Now, despite the adrenaline-fueled opening win over Tennessee, it clearly isn't just the cupboard that's bare. It's the kitchen, the basement pantry, the dining room, the house, the backyard, the neighborhood. They are thin where they should be thick, slow where they should be fast, weak where they need strength. More, they are inexperienced.

So yes, progress -- small, in-game victories -- is what we should look for.

Last week they were down, 42-0, at the half. This time they were outclassed in all phases but trailed only 17-10 after two quarters. The defense had made it a battle. The running game had gotten a little bit better. With just under nine minutes left in the third quarter, it seemed like UCLA should have been down by four touchdowns. Instead they had the ball at midfield, and if they weren't quite marching down the field, they were at least inching forward. Improvement? Yes.