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UCLA Football: Being real about the Bruins’ success in 2018

By James Puryear

PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Caleb Wilson
PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Caleb Wilson /
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UCLA Football’s 2018 Schedule

  • Sept 1 vs Cincinnati
  • Sept 8 at Oklahoma
  • Sept 15 vs Fresno State
  • Sept 28 at Colorado
  • Oct 6 vs Washington
  • Oct 13 at California
  • Oct 20 vs Arizona
  • Oct 26 vs Utah
  • Nov 3 at Oregon
  • Nov 10 at Arizona State
  • Nov 17 vs USC
  • Nov 24 vs Stanford
  1. Let us assume that UCLA loses to Stanford, UW, or Oklahoma.
  2. Lets also assume that UCLA beats Cincinnati and Fresno State at home, meaning they need to win four more games to get to .500.

Here’s the remaining coaches/schools:

Mike Macintyre (Colorado)
Herm Edwards (ASU, also just lol)
Kevin Sumlin (Arizona)
Mario Cristobal (Oregon, also what a name)
Justin Wilcox (Cal)
Kyle Wittingham (Utah)
Clay Helton (USC)

Do you pick 4 of 7 of these coaches to beat the guy that has a 33-3 conference record?  I wouldn’t.

Do I think UCLA is going to go 7-0 against these teams?  Of course not, there’s some good teams/coaches on this list, but I think UCLA will be more successful than the 5-7 record the FPI predicts.

Final Thoughts

This is a transition year with an insane schedule, almost completely new staff, a new quarterback, and an offensive line that will likely have some growing pains. Nick Saban and Pete Carroll both got off to 7-6 and 6-6 starts their first seasons at Alabama and USC, respectively, before turning those programs into perennial powerhouses.

I think this season will look a lot like those. There’s probably going to be some ugly moments that make you question whether we made the right hire or if Chip Kelly is overrated. But by the end of our bowl game in December, I think Bruin fans are going to feel really good about this team moving forward.

Trust that we made the right hire, and (try) to be patient!

Next: UCLA Gymnastics brings home Championship 115 behind two perfect 10s

PS: The Greatest Player in UCLA History, TE Caleb Wilson, the hero of the TAMU game, is returning from foot injury after only playing five games last season.  So you can ignore all of this because we might just go 15-0. Go Bruins!