Pac-12 Perspective: Is UCLA Still A Pac-12 Contender And Can They Win The South Division?

The UCLA Bruins finally got a “W” in Strawberry Canyon as the Bruins beat Cal 36-34 in Berkeley for the first time since 1998. The win obviously helps the Bruins stay in contention to win the South Division, but their previous two losses hampered that, so where do the Bruins stand in relation to capturing the division a second time? It seems it is possible and winning the South would be a major step in proving that they are still a Pac-12 contender, but there are a lot of things that have to happen before then.

First off, let us look at the current Pac-12 standings:

North Division

South Division

For the South Division, here are the games remaining for each team:

Arizona: at Washington St., at UCLA, vs Colorado, vs Washington, at Utah, vs Arizona St.

Arizona State: at Washington, vs Utah, vs Notre Dame, at Oregon St., vs Washington St., at Arizona

Colorado: vs Colorado, vs Washington, at Arizona, at Oregon, vs Utah

UCLA: at Colorado, vs Arizona, at Washington, vs USC, vs Stanford

USC: at Utah, at Washington St., vs Cal, at UCLA vs Notre Dame

Utah: vs USC, at Arizona St., vs Oregon, at Stanford, vs Arizona, at Colorado

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Right now, the biggest concern is Utah. If both the Bruins and the Utes end the season tied at the top of the Division, Utah gets the tie-breaker and a trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game. Taking this into consideration, Utah needs to lose two more for UCLA to have a shot at winning the South. Unfortunately for the Utes, the hardest part of their schedule is ahead of them as they still have dates with the three teams ahead of them in the South standings, as well as Oregon and Stanford.

The Bruins already mutilated Arizona State, so a tie with them gives the edge to the Bruins. The only other two teams UCLA needs to hurdle is Arizona and USC. With both the Wildcats and Trojans ahead of the Bruins in the division standings, UCLA must beat each team head to head to control their own destiny. The Bruins play Arizona during homecoming on November 1, which was just announced will be the game UCLA will wear their ‘L.A. Steel’ alternate uniforms. Three weeks after that, the Bruins take on crosstown rival USC, which goes without saying, will be a huge game with a lot of post-seaosn implications riding on it.

Both Arizona and USC have one loss, so a Bruin victory, as stated before, gives them the much needed tie-breaker. In regards to their schedules, ASU seems to have the harder path as they have four games remaining against teams with winning records as opposed to three that USC has.

Nov 30, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley (17) eludes Southern California Trojans defensive end Leonard Williams (94) to score on a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Now let us not forget Colorado. The Bruins next play the Buffaloes in Boulder which cannot be a game they look past. Judging from how the season has gone so far, I do not think that will be a problem for the Bruins. Though Colorado has not been impressive this season, they are definitely looking to get their first conference win. Additionally, the Bruins are on a seven game road win streak that dates back to last season. On the road, the Bruins are 4-0 this year. At home, they are 1-2.

Hopefully the trip to Colorado is favorable to the Bruins who will not only be in better standing with a win, but will also be bowl eligible. Regardless, the Bruins need to take thereat of the season one game at a time. Get the wins and all will be well.