The last time we saw Dante Moore and the UCLA offense, the daunting Utah defense was treating it like a piñata.

Actually, piñatas have it easier than Moore and the Bruins.

Piñatas at least swing back.

UCLA, on the other hand, was completely punchless against the Utes, who were down about 4,000 pounds worth of potential all-Pac-12 talent when they handled the Bruins, 14-7, in Week 4.

Punchless may be an overstatement. The UCLA offense basically tried to fight with two hands tied behind its back, tallying fewer than 250 yards in the loss.

The problem for the Bruins? They’re playing No. 13-ranked Washington State at 12:30 Saturday at the Rose Bowl, and the Cougars have come out swinging.

“They’re attacking, they’ve got an extensive 3rd-down package where they blitz you from a lot of different looks, a lot of up looks,” UCLA coach Chip Kelly said. “They’re aggressive in the secondary, they’re aggressive in their coverages. They’ve done a really nice job and they cause a lot of problems for you because of how they attack offensive schemes.”

You’d be scrappy, too, if college football was throwing you into the scrap heap.

*****

What has happened to Wazzu is more than a moral outrage, which, to be sure, it unequivocally is. The idea that a quaint college town like Pullman can be undone by the whims of our television overlords is not just disheartening, it should be criminal.

It’s also pure football idiocy.

The idea that Rutgers and UCF and Boston College are in the Power 5 and Washington State and Oregon State are not is a travesty.

So you can understand how Jake Dickert and the Cougars have come out of the gate throwing haymakers.

There was a Week 1 59-24 thrashing of Colorado State, then a statement win at No. 29 Wisconsin. After another smashing of another Mile High State squad, this time a 64-21 win over Northern Colorado in Week 3, the Cougars took it to No. 14 Oregon State in a 38-35 Friday night win.

Cameron Ward and the offense have been clicking — with Ward considered a legit Heisman contender – and a defense led by stud linemen Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson has barely scratched the surface on what it can do.

Now Wazzu is 4-0 for the first time since 2017, with 2 wins over ranked opponents already, and Dickert’s name is being bandied about as a favorite to land the Michigan State job.

“These are the things that come with team success,” Dickert said. “We wouldn’t be talking about this if we were 2-2. We wouldn’t be talking about these things if we were 0-4. So these are the things that come with success. I love my job. I love being here. We’re focused on right here, right now. Not on the past, not on the future — this team and what it means to everybody in the building, and getting back to football is really important.”

But this isn’t just about the Cougars on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

This is about the Bruins, and trying to bounce back from adversity.

What a lesson for Dante Moore.

*****

Up until UCLA’s rude awakening in Week 4, things had been going pretty darn well for the Bruins’ electric true freshman. Arguably the team’s top freshman QB recruit in program history, Moore had emerged as one of the top young gunslinger in the country, though Kelly had insisted it was still a 4-way competition between Moore, returning backup Ethan Garbers, Kent State transfer Collin Schlee and Los Angeles Times beat writer Ben Bolch.

Through 3 games, albeit against the likes of Mo, Larry and Curly, Moore boasted one of the top passer ratings in the country, with 615 yards on 32-of-51 passing and 7 touchdowns to 1 pick.

But it wasn’t just the numbers, it was the finesse. The dimes. The long balls landing ever-so-gently into the awaiting arms of a darting receiver. Moore had touchdown tosses of 81, 67 and 62 yards in his first 3 games, and when is the last time you saw that?

More than anything, though, he had time.

Moore had more time in the pocket than loose change the first 3 weeks, as he was sacked just 4 times.

Then he traveled to Salt Lake City in September, which is a little like a beat up ’92 Mazda Miata traveling to a chop shop in Brooklyn in the middle of July for a date with the incinerator.

And the UCLA offense was indeed just about stripped of its parts and thrown into a heap, with the Utes racking up 7 sacks and 11 tackles-for-loss. The Bruins managed just 9 rushing yards on 32 attempts and converted 3-of-17 3rd downs.

Jonah Elliss, in particular, dominated UCLA.

Moore was running for his life. It was not pretty.

*****

It might not be all that pretty Saturday at the Rose Bowl and the following week at Reser Stadium against the Beavers, before a 4-game stretch that ranks among the easiest in the Power 5, with home games against Colorado and Arizona State along with trips to Arizona and Stanford.

If Kelly, Moore and Co., put things together these next 2 weeks, the Bruins could be 9-1 heading into a Week 12 cross-town visit to the Los Angeles Coliseum for a matchup with USC.

They’ll need to put that Week 4 debacle in the past, though, and that’s not always easy. Not when you were bullied that badly.

Can the true freshman move on? That is the task at hand.

“Dante’s been great,” Kelly said. “Dante is the same person every day. That’s one thing we love about him, his consistency in terms of his work ethic, film study, meetings, training. I don’t think he’s governed by outside influences. He’s got an internal, intrinsic drive that he wants to be better on a daily basis and continues to strive to be like that, so he’s been great.”