UCLA Football: 10 bold predictions for the 2018 season

PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 03: Theo Howard
PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 03: Theo Howard
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SEATTLE, WA – OCTOBER 28: Defensive back Myles Bryant #5 of the Washington Huskies celebrates with defensive back Jojo McIntosh #14 and defensive back Elijah Molden #3 after recovering a fumble against the UCLA Bruins at Husky Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – OCTOBER 28: Defensive back Myles Bryant #5 of the Washington Huskies celebrates with defensive back Jojo McIntosh #14 and defensive back Elijah Molden #3 after recovering a fumble against the UCLA Bruins at Husky Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

3. Chip Kelly will beat two of these four teams: Oklahoma, Washington, Stanford, USC

Yeah, laugh now, but something is Bruin!

It was a sad state of the program when Burin fans looked at the upcoming schedule and thought, “UCLA should definitely beat team X, but I have a feeling Jim Mora is going to find a way to lose it.“ It’s unfortunate, but that is what life in Bruinlandia has been like for the last five years.

There will be games Chip Kelly will be expected to lose, but will find a way to pull out the win.

UCLA is able to occasionally put up a fight against the big dogs, but when it comes to lesser opponents, UCLA struggled way more than they should have, and every year there would be that one game that they lose that they were supposed to have won.

I believe the reverse will be true with the new coach. There will be games Chip Kelly will be expected to lose, but will find a way to pull out the win. With that being said, Chip Kelly is going to beat two out of the four toughest opponents on his schedule in 2018

Maybe it’s situational or maybe it’s the fact that Kelly will have the better game, but something tells me that he’s going to turn heads sooner than expected.  For example, there are not a lot of people that expect UCLA to beat Oklahoma, but I think the uncertainty at quarterback after the exit of Baker Mayfield could give the Bruins the advantage.

And when it comes to the Pac-12, something tells me Kelly will have his team in top form, both knowing how these coaches operate and how important conference wins are to the program. Either way, get ready to be surprised.

Schedule

Schedule