Go Joe Bruin projects the likely outcome of the UCLA Football team’s remaining seven games and where they could finish in the Pac-12.
Heading into the bye week with a 3-2 record is probabaly what most UCLA Football fans would have predicted before the season. Optimists could argue for 4-1 and those on the other side might have said 2-3 (or even 1-4).
RELATED: The bye week could not come at a better time for UCLA
With UCLA five games into their season, we now have a good idea of where this team is going. We also know how the rest of the Pac-12 is doing, which slightly changes preseason predictions.
So with that in mind, here are the remaining games on the schedule and my new predictions.
At Arizona, October 14
The Wildcats have an incredible run game, one that will possibly plow through the Bruins’ run defense. Fortunately, the rest of the match ups seem to favor UCLA and even though the Bruins don’t have a good track record in Tucson, UCLA has more bite. WIN
Vs Oregon, October 21
Oregon is doing better than most expected, though their roster took a hit last week in a win against Cal. Before the weekend, it appeared that Oregon was the more talented team compared to UCLA. Now, the Ducks have to decided on who will throw the ball around after two QBs were injured against the Golden Bears, including starter Justin Herbert. WIN
Related Story: How do the Bruins survive the loss of TE Caleb Wilson?
at Washington, October 28
Just know now that this will be a loss. If UCLA beats Top 5 Washington in Seattle, then UCLA has the potential to go undefeated the rest of the season. But that is not happening. LOSS
at Utah, Fri, November 3
The Utes are looking good with a 5-0 start, but how will they fare at this point in the season? Though UCLA has a two-game win streak at Rice-Eccles Stadium, they are so far not doing good on the road this season. LOSS
Vs Arizona State, November 11
Another streak that needs to be broken is ASU’s win streak at the Rose Bowl. It should be an interesting game, one that UCLA should escape victorious, but it’s not a given. WIN
at USC, November 18
At the beginning of the season, this was a lock for Trojan win. After observing the true nature of Sam Darnold and looking at their injuries, USC could possible be in a worse situation than the Bruins at this point. Still, an away game against the Trojans, this prediciton is an ‘L’, but a close one. LOSS
Vs Cal, November 24
Just as UCLA doesn’t do well at Memorial Stadium, Cal doesn’t do well at the Rose Bowl. WIN
So UCLA can seemingly go 4-3 in their last seven games, which translates to a possible final regular season record of 7-5, 5-4.
In summation, the Bruins could be in contention to win the South Division, but that will not happen until they can win on the road, win big games and even winning big games on the road. Until then, the Bruins seem on par to finish second or third.
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It does not seem likely that UCLA will once again go 4-8, at least not with Josh Rosen healthy, but who knows with the calamity of college football. It would not surprise me if they only win only 4 games or win as much as 10. It has been that kind of year.