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UCLA Football: The Bruins will start PAC-12 play undefeated

By Michael Chavez

Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora yells from the sideline during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Texas A&M won in overtime 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora yells from the sideline during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Texas A&M won in overtime 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The UCLA Football team is going to have a packed September with five games in the first month of the season. Go Joe Bruin will tell you why they’ll be flawless through the first three games.

Like I said before, the month of September could potentially be brutal for the UCLA Football team. They’ll have to travel to take on Memphis and Stanford back to back before coming home to Colorado. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. The first three games are what’s on the menu.

Of course this UCLA Football team has a number of questions to answer itself before their opening game.

However for this latest edition of Making the Case I’m going to tell you why the Bruins will rip off three W’s in a row to get 2017 going.

Texas A&M Aggies Sept.3 – Rose Bowl

First game of the season has the Texas A&M Aggies coming to the Rose Bowl. Yesterday I gave you an early breakdown of the Aggies Football team and what they’ll likely look like when Sept. 3 rolls around.

Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin on the sidelines against the UCLA Bruins during a game at Kyle Field. Texas A&M won in overtime 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin on the sidelines against the UCLA Bruins during a game at Kyle Field. Texas A&M won in overtime 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports /

What I only hinted at in that piece are just how many questions that team needs to answer. They’re looking for a new QB and might have one in Nick Starkel but he hasn’t taken a snap in a live game yet.

They’re replacing their right tackle and moved last year’s starting enter to guard meaning this group will need some time to gel.

Also on the offensive side they’ll be looking to replace one of their top pass catcher from last year who took his talent and 12 touchdowns to the NFL. Sure they have Christian Kirk but he can’t do it alone especially with defenses giving him extra attention.

Defensively both starting defensive ends went to the NFL and they lost their leader in the secondary. I’m not saying this isn’t a talented team but they’re going to have to figure out a ton by the time they take on the Bruins and since this UCLA Football team is at home, I’m giving the nod to the Bruins.

Related Story: UCLA Football: An early preview of the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors Sept. 8 – Rose Bowl

I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade (pun intended) but the Rainbow Warriors haven’t been good for quite some time.

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They are however on an upward trend. They won their first bowl game since 2006 last season and head coach Nick Rolovich who was a former Hawaii QB has momentum going in the right direction.

The Rainbow Warriors do return their starting QB from last year and they’ve got a young one in the wings named Cole McDonald. McDonald will likely be the first off the bench this year while he sits behind Dru Brown but should Brown go down, Hawai’i has some insurance.

They do have an NFL caliber RB in Diocemy Saint Juste who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season. He’s going to be the engine that gets this offense going.

However this is a team that needs a lot of help if they’re going to win more than six games this year and I don’t believe the UCLA Bruins will be one of those wins.

Memphis Tigers Sept. 15 – Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium

The Bruins haven’t seen the Tigers since 2014 when the Rose Bowl played host to a much closer game than anyone expected. The Bruins were victorious but allowed the Tigers to score 35 points on a very talented defense. Since then Memphis has only gotten better.

They’ve gone three consecutive seasons of eight or more wins, which is more than you can say for UCLA Football, and have produced few draft selections. They might not carry as much stress as the idea of facing the Aggies but perhaps they should.

The Tigers have offensive power and a QB who is one of the top senior QBs in the country. Head coach Mike Norvell is an offensive minded guy but this Memphis team has some sneaky good defenders on the other side of the ball.

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UCLA will have to contend with an explosive offense and a defense that won’t be run over but the Bruins have so many play makers and guys that can hurt you in so many ways. This game might be much closer than we want it to but I see the Bruins snagging a road win here against a quality opponent.