Go Joe Bruin
Fansided

UCLA Football: Bleacher Report Predicts a Big Turnaround for Bruins in 2017

By Mike Regalado

Nov 19, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora looks on before the game against the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora looks on before the game against the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Bleacher Report has come out with an early look at the projected records of all Power 5 Conference teams for 2017 and the UCLA Football team will apparently make 180-degree turn.

In away, the UCLA Football team could not get any worse next season, so the only place to go is up. After going 4-8 in 2016, the Bruins will look to drastically improve in 2017.

That is the hope of the UCLA Football fans, but it seems that others are predicting a massive improvement by the blue and gold next season.

Bleacher Report recently came out with their own predictions for all Power 5 Conference teams and they predicted a major shift for the Bruins.

Related Story: The 30 Greatest UCLA Football Players of All-Time

Though they were not ranked in their projected top 25, Bleacher Report is predicting a 9-3 record for the Bruins in 2017. That is quite a vote of confidence to foresee five more wins next season, but it is also not far-fetched to predict.

Aside from returning a lot of talent and bringing in a star-studded 2017 recruiting class, the Bruins should be one of the top teams in the Pac-12 next season.

Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon sites the addition of new offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch as the major component to their possible success:

"[Fisch’s] been an absolute master at developing college quarterbacks, and none of them—Stephen Morris, Jake Rudock, Wilton Speight—have Josh Rosen’s ceiling."

With quarterback Josh Rosen returning for his junior season, five incredible running backs at their disposal and an entirely new offensive coaching staff, things should improve on that side of the ball.

But let us not forget about what is going on with the defense.

The Bruins are losing a lot to graduation and the NFL Draft, but they reloaded with their 2017 recruiting class. On top of that, they have kept intact their stellar defensive coaching staff led by Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley, so the defense should keep that consistency going.

Next: Go Joe Bruin Predicts UCLA's 2017 Season

Though we are seven months away from the new season, things appear to be on the up and up for UCLA. When spring practice rolls around in a few weeks, we will get a better picture of how this team will operate, at which point we can see if this team can go 9-3 or if they are once again destined for 4-8.