UCLA Football: A Look Into the Future Non-Conference Schedules
Go Joe Bruin takes a look at the future non-conference schedules for the UCLA Football team.
Since Jim Mora has taken over, he has pitted the UCLA Football team against some tough non-conferene opponents and continues to do so into the future, although it is going to get tougher.
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Here we will take a look at the Bruin’s opponents for the next ten years. Will the Bruins be fighting for their lives at the beginning of every season, or will UCLA be able to completely dominate?
Let us take a look at the future non-conference schedules.
2016
at Texas A&M 9/3
vs UNLV 9/10
at BYU 9/17
We are not exactly sure what UCLA Football Head Coach jim Mora was thinking with this schedule as he not only has two non-conference away games but they are against two solid football programs. Sure, they get a break with UNLV sandwiched in the middle, but things are a bit tough with an SEC team and a team the Bruins lost 59-0 to the last time they were in Provo, UT.
UCLA Bruins
2017
vs Texas A&M 9/2
vs Hawaii 9/8
at Memphis 9/16
The Bruins have more of a break the season after next. They get two home games with only one potential Top 25 team. The Aggies visit Pasadena in the second of a home-and-home and follow it up by entertaining Hawaii, so going 2-0 seems very good at this point. A trip Memphis would be their first, though it is the second time they have ever played the Tigers. Not a pushover team, but not totally impossible to be 3-0 after this game.
2018
vs Cincinnati 9/1
at Oklahoma 9/8
vs Fresno State 9/15
Here is where the schedule once again gets tougher. The Bruins will start the season by playing against a team they have never met. Looking at the trajectory of Cincinnati, they seem to be a good team in 2018, but if they are better than expected, it would be bad starting the season 0-1 heading to Norman, OK. With a trip to Oklahoma, this is the season where the UCLA Football team starts their scheduling with the creme of the crop of college football.
2019
at Cincinnati 8/31
vs San Diego St. 9/7
vs Oklahoma 9/14
The Bruins travel to a place they have never been, invite a local rival back to the Rose Bowl and return the favor in a home-and-home as the Sooners invade Pasadena. For the most part, it seems like a very fun, but also challenging schedule. If that is what Mora wants, that is what he is getting, but the challenges do not end there.
Related Story: UCLA Vs. Texas A&M Preview
2020
vs Rutgers 9/5
at San Diego St. 9/19
Though these are not two big time programs, there is still a slot available in the non-conference for a big game. If Mora does not schedule a Power 5 team, the upside is that they will have one of the easier schedules in the last few years. The down side is a low SOS.
2021
vs LSU 9/4
at Rutgers 9/11
vs Fresno St. 9/18
And now the Bruins are back to a bruising schedule.. First, LSU will come in with fists swinging and then the Bruins have to travel all the way across the country to face Rutgers and then end the non-conference with a home battle against Fresno St, which might be the easiest game that season.
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2022
at Michigan 9/10
vs South Alabama 9/17
It does not matter what the third game scheduled is because the marquee match up this season will be at the Big House. The blue and gold mixes with the blue and maize in the biggest stadium in the country. UCLA adds South Alabama to soften the blow. Hopefully Mora does not schedule another game that makes this an impossible schedule.
2023
vs Michigan 9/2
vs Coastal Carolina 9/16
Since Michigan has not been to the Rose Bowl in several years, UCLA is making it ease for them in the second of a home-and-home. They also tangle for the first time with Coastal Carolina. The question here is what treacherous away game will Mora schedule.
2024
at LSU 8/31
Seriously, who is already making plans to head out to Baton Rouge in eight years? With the first game of the season, the Bruins and Tigers finish their home-and-home series (three years later). In a way, it does not matter who else the Bruins schedule because this will be one of the best games of the year.
Related Story: UCLA Vs. UNLV Preview
2025
vs Georgia 8/30
2026
at Georgia 9/5
In 9 and 10 years we get to see the Bruins mix with an SEC team that has several parallels to UCLA. They might not win a lot of championships, but they know how to hand out beat downs. It is way too early to determine how great this contest will be, but I for one would love to head out to Athens, GA in 2026.
Next: Projecting the UCLA Football Depth Chart - RBs and FBs
Go Bruins!