What Will Make An Unsuccessful Season For UCLA Football? And What Will That Mean For the Future?
With so much hope surrounding UCLA Football going into the 2015 season, the Bruins need to be near perfect to obtain success… but what if they do not meet their goals?
Here at Go Joe Bruin, we are very excited for the upcoming season with UCLA Football. We have examined the team on both offense, defense and special teams and have come to the conclusion, like many, that the Bruins will be a very, very good team this year. Possibly the best in the Jim Mora era.
RELATED: UCLA Football – What Will Define A Successful Season?
In a recent article, we examined what UCLA Football has to do to have a successful season. Some of the answers involved a conference championship, a trip to the Rose Bowl Game and even an invitation to play in the College Football Playoffs.
But what if none of that happens? Well, there will be a lot of ticked off message board members voicing their displeasure.
But seriously, looking at the potential success of UCLA in our previous article, it is easy to point out that if the Bruins do not make the CFB Playoffs, the Rose Bowl or get to the Pac-12 Championship, 2015 would be seen as a bust. Even if the Bruins make it to a lower tiered bowl and win, that still might not be enough to convince critics that UCLA Football can get to the next level.
UCLA Bruins
But Bruin fans also must be aware of how difficult having a successful season (as pointed out in our previous article) will be. Not only do the Bruins play in arguably the toughest conference in the nation, but the toughest division as well.
Just look at their daunting schedule: vs Virginia, at UNLV, vs BYU, at Arizona, vs Arizona State, at Stanford, vs California, vs Colorado, at Oregon State, vs Washington State, at Utah and at USC.
Looking at this schedule, there are potentially six teams the Bruins could lose to, BYU, Arizona, ASU, Stanford, Utah and USC. Going 6-6 in the regular season, though making them bowl eligible, will not satisfy the UCLA Football team or their fans. On top of that, there might also be the stigma that UCLA cannot win a conference championship or any meaningful post-season game. I am sure this is something Jim Mora wants to avoid.
But there could be an even worse scenario… what if UCLA fights through this schedule, going 9-3 or 10-2 and still not making the Pac-12 Championship Game, the Rose Bowl or a New Year’s Six Bowl? Having that type of success in the regular season and making the Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl or Sun Bowl is not the goal, though it could very likely happen. College Football is a harsh game off the field as on it.
To be really successful, UCLA Football needs to be focused every single game. They need to execute their game plan and they need to know that they can beat every single team on their schedule. Only then will they be able to fight their way to a preferable post-season game and be on their way to elite status, but we will see.
Next: Important Dates For UCLA Football