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The hits just keep coming for the beleaguered UCLA defense.

Star LB Myles Jack suffered a season-ending knee injury in Tuesday’s practice. Jack joins DT Eddie Vanderdoes and CB Fabian Moreau on the disabled list, meaning the Bruins have now lost three next-level defenders before the end of September.

Jack’s injury is the biggest blow to UCLA’s Pac-12—and national—title hopes. He’s one of the game’s premier linebackers, and his ability to cover like a safety is especially valuable in a league flush with so many quality quarterbacks and offenses. Jack is an irreplaceable cog in a Bruin defense that’s suddenly become vulnerable and thin.

For Jack, last week against BYU was likely his last game as an amateur. He was a slam-dunk first-round talent before the injury, and he has a $5 million disability insurance policy that includes a ‘loss of value’ rider in the event of a serious injury. Now, the junior can only hope that this injury happened early enough in the year that he’ll be available to work out for NFL scouts next February and March.

For UCLA, the bar on 2015 has to be lowered. A quality, Top 25 program? You bet, especially if QB Josh Rosen continues to develop. But you cannot lose stars the caliber of Jack, Vanderdoes and Moreau, and still be considered a serious playoff threat. The Pac-12 South? Still within reach, but even that goal has endured a serious hit.

Jim Mora has filled his roster with quality players, the residue of ace recruiting. However, this isn’t the same team that opened the year against Virginia. And that’s a shame, because before stars began falling, it looked as if this could be a very special fall in Westwood.