UCLA Football: Bruins need to 6-0 at the Rose Bowl in 2017
The UCLA Football team will have a lot writing on this next season and if they want to be successful, they need to defend their home in dominating fashion.
Usually, home is where a team has the favorable advantage, but that has not exactly been the case for the UCLA Football team in the Jim Mora era.
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In his time with the Bruins, Mora has gone 19-12 when his boys are playing in Pasadena. That is a whopping. 61.2% winning percentage IN HIS OWN HOUSE!
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It has been an interesting journey as well. Though the Bruins have never had a losing record at home in a season under Mora, going 3-3 twice in his tenure is not good either. One of stranger seasons in regards to this was in 2014 (Brett Hundley‘s last season) when the Bruins went 3-3 at the Rose Bowl and 5-0 on the road.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Here is what the Bruins have done at the Rose Bowl during the Mora era:
- 2012: 4-3
- 2013: 5-1
- 2014: 3-3
- 2015: 4-2
- 2016: 3-3
The Bruins have not exactly made home a place to be feared. Though the Bruins could get away with it when their overall record gets them 8-10 wins in a season, it amplified UCLA’s inability to capitalize on having home field advantage last year when the Bruins went 4-8.
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That is why UCLA needs to dominate on their home turf this upcoming season… which might also determine Mora’s future with the program. Though the Bruins have an insanely difficult road schedule (Memphis, Stanford, Arizona, Washington, Utah and USC), they have a chance to make a difference at home, which is definitely against an easier set of teams.
This fall at Rose Bowl, the Bruins take on Texas A&M, Hawaii, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona State and Cal. At first glance, the home schedule looks to be treacherous, but it is something the Bruins should be able to handle.
Right now, Hawaii, ASU and Cal should be locks for Bruin victories. The Texas A&M contest should favor the Bruins who need to use the home field advantage against a team they have more talent than.
Colorado beat UCLA last season, but the Rose Bowl should help get the Bruins get a win. As for Oregon, they are a team in flux with a new head coach, and I do not expect them to be the Ducks of old, giving UCLA a shot to beating them this season.
So in reality, UCLA should go 6-0. In a way, they have to. Their road schedule is going to be tough, so there is no excuse to not have a perfect home slate. If UCLA wants to prove they are back, then they have to start at home.