UCLA And Fresno State To Meet In 2018

Dec 7, 2013; Fresno, CA, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs quarterback Derek Carr (4) prepares to throw a pass against the Utah State Aggies in the third quarter at Bulldog Stadium. The Bulldogs defeated the Aggies 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

It was announced today that the UCLA and Fresno State football programs will meet at the Rose Bowl on September 15, 2018, according to CBSSports.com. This is another great match-up UCLA and head coach Jim Mora have scheduled to expand their horizons in the college football frontier. Between next season and 2024, the Bruins will be taking on Texas, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Michigan and LSU, with most of these being home-and-home series. As of now, UCLA is not scheduled to play in Fresno.

Fresno State, last season’s Mountain West Conference Champions, are also looking to expand their brand. The Bulldogs are stepping up their non-conference schedule in the next few years as they are set to take on the likes of USC, Ole Miss, BYU and Nebraska, to name a few.

With a lot more riding on non-conference games and strength of schedules, NCAA FBS teams will now need to go outside of their usual schedule of playing “cupcakes”. The way it is now, if teams want to be one of the four selected for the College Football Playoffs, they have to have a solid showing every single game of every season. If college football was not great enough, it is about to get phenomenal.

Go Bruins!

Mike W.R.

Twitter: @TheBigDisco