ESPN has calculated the toughest schedules in the nation and listed UCLA Football at 7th in the FBS.
UCLA Football fans have known for a while that the 2016 season is going to be tough, and now we have some perspective on just how difficult it will be.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), the Bruins have the 7th toughest schedule in the nation.
Whether you like it or not, UCLA is going to have one hell of a time navigating theough a schedule that includes games at Texas A&M, at BYU, at Arizona State, at Cal and home against Stanford, Utah and USC.
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Click HERE for the full UCLA Football schedule.
The Bruins were already going to have a tough time starting their season in College Station, TX against the Aggies, but that challenge got knocked up a notch after last season.
Former UCLA Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone left the Bruins to take the same position with Texas A&M, so the familiarity with both teams will definitely up the ante.
It will definitely be tough, but at least it is not as brutal as USC’s schedule which includes games against Alabama (at AT&T Stadium), at Stanford, at Utah, at UCLA and at home against ASU, Oregon and Notre Dame. Because of this future torture, ESPN gave the Trojans the toughest schedule for the 2016 season.
In the Pac-12, UCLA is the 3rd toughest behind USC and Cal (who has the 4th toughest schedule in the country), followed by Stanford, Oregon State, Utah, Oregon and Colorado (all of which are in the top 20 of the FBS’s most difficult schedules).
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As much as this schedule will help the Bruin’s resume in the post-season, like me, many UCLA Football fans hope that Head Coach Jim Mora will ease up on treacherous battles in the future. Not only does this limit the Bruins to playing one non-Conference game at the Rose Bowl, but it has them going to stadiums that will be difficult to play at.
Maybe Mora can schedule a game at Hawai’i every year. I’m sure Bruin fans would not object to that!