UCLA Football: Expectations vs. Reality

Dec 31, 2013; El Paso, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Thomas Duarte (18) catches pass for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2013 Sun Bowl at Sun Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

College basketball is no more. The NBA season? Just ended. Hockey? Over. NFL games won’t be here for a while, either. Its summer, and quite honestly, it’s one of the worst times in sports. A time when any non-baseball fan like myself no longer wants to watch the Sports Center Top-10 Plays, knowing every play will be the same diving catch made by a different player, and that every story line will in some way be tied to Yasiel Puig. In these tough times, we look to the future — to UCLA Football. With preseason expectations finding the Bruins as high as 4th in the nation and playing in the new college football playoff, are we getting carried away, or is the hype true? Everyone is focused on Oregon and Stanford — even calling the USC game one of the tougher this season, but in simply doing that, they look past two challenging games at the beginning of the season. Let’s take a look at each game and see what they have to offer.