UCLA Football: 10 bold predictions for the 2018 season

Go Joe Bruin makes 10 bold predictions for the UCLA football team’s 2018 campaign, which there are a few that are very attainable.

It is Year One in the Chip Kelly era and even though there is a lot of work to be done, the Bruins have the talent, and now the coaching, to make some big things happen.

RELATED: UCLA Football – Post-spring projected 2-deep depth chart

Though many rightfully expect the Bruins to really take off in 2019, 2018 could give us several interesting surprises. With that in mind, Go Joe Bruin makes 10 (possibly outlandish but somewhat  realistic) bold predictions for next season.

1. UCLA will finish the season in the Top 25

Not exactly an Earth-shattering prediction (strap in folks, its about to loony after this first slide), but one that could or could not happen and I don’t believe UCLA football fans would be surprised either way.

If Kelly and the Bruins don’t make the top 25, the narrative will be that it was Kelly’s first season. But if he does make the top 25, then the talk will be how he has developed the talent he inherited and his coaching style has propelled the Bruins back to the top of the college football world.

If he does do the latter, and his first season is quite successful, he is going to garner a lot of support and bring a lot of attention to the program, which will result in some favorable poll positions.

With the genius he brings to UCLA, he might not have them winning hardware in his first year, but towards the end of the season when his team starts to mesh, we will see massive improvements which will make them one of the hottest teams at the end of the 2018 season.

2. Bolu Olorunfunmi, Soso Jamabo, Josh Kelley and Kazmeir Allen will combine for over 3,000 rushing yards

The UCLA football team could not get to 1,500 yards on the ground last season, only gaining 1,474 with a game average of 117.4 yards, and that was an improvement from the season before when they could only produce 84.2.

With Chip Kelly’s focus on the run game, and utilizing the talented running backs that he has, I would put money on these runners to collectively gain over 3,000 yards.

2017 Offensive Rushing Yards: 1,474

Chip Kelly is an offensive genius that has the knack for bringing out the best in his players and having them successfully work into his schemes. During spring, we saw flashes of greatness with the run game, but we didn’t see everything. Kelly was not going to show all of his cards in spring and it’s easy to conclude that UCLA will be bringing out more of the razzle dazzle this fall, which is why these RBs will be able to make plays and run the rock all over the 2018 season.

Like several of his position groups, Kelly was nowhere near his potential in both depth and skill. This fall, we get to see how some of the freshman fit in, how the vets have developed over the summer and what improvements will be made overall. This is why I believe UCLA will have a huge turn around with the run game.

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.

4. The defense will cut their rush defense numbers from 2018 in half

I’m really upset that I have to once again use the term “bend but don’t break.”  I didn’t like using it during the Jim Mora era, and I don’t like using it now as a frame of reference of what UCLA’s new defense will not be doing next season. But here we are.

Simply put, UCLA’s defense was overly conservative. They could not stop the run, they didn’t seem to have fundamentals with tackling, it appeared as though they waited for the ball to come to them and there was not a lot of pressure put on opposing quarterbacks.

2017 rush yards allowed: 3,736

2017 rush yard allowed per game: 287.4

That is going to change a lot next season and with that, UCLA is going to cut down their numbers, especially in rush defense. Last season, the Bruins were the worst rush defense team in the nation (literally, the only direction they have to go is up), allowing runners to blow past them for 3,736 yards. That translates to 287.4 yards per contest.

With the growing “violent” nature of the new defense, the addition of some key freshman and vets returning from injury, UCLA will be very stacked and play the ball very aggressively which will result in massive improvements. That will result in the defense allowing no more than 190 yards on the ground in 2018. I have written!

5. TE Caleb Wilson will at some point be named as a Heisman Candidate

Yeah I went there. We’re going to hear Caleb Wilson’s name a lot next season which means that at some point we will hear it in terms of the Heisman Trophy talk.

For those that did not follow UCLA football last season, it was simply amazing what Wilson did, especially in only half a season. In his second year with the Bruins, he shot out of the gate as UCLA’s top receiver early in the season as he had amassed 490 receiving yards (4th overall on UCLA) and one touchdown. And that was only in five games.

Unfortunately, he suffered a foot injury which took him out for the rest the season. It was a big blow for him and the team as Wilson was looking very comfortable catching passes from Josh Rosen. If he did not get injured, it would not surprise anyone if he finished with the most receiving yards last year.

This year, bigger things are expected from the 2017 breakout player who was ranked the best tight end in the nation by Pro Football Focus. Add to the fact that Chip Kelly is an offensive genius and has recently been utilizing tight ends in his offense schemes, which should lead to an even bigger 2018.

6. UCLA will triple their rush offense

Last season, the Bruins heavily relied on passing with 4,478 yards through the air, good to be fourth best in the nation. Their run game, however, only accounted for 1,474 yards, 115th in the nation, out of 129.

With Chip Kelly in charge, those numbers are not just going to go up, but they are going to go up dramatically.

2017 UCLA Rushing Yards: 1,474

2018 Predicted Rushing Yards: 4,422

Yes, I think Kelly can triple the rushing offensive output from last season. And doing the math on that, it would give the Bruins approximately 4,422 yards. That would have given UCLA the third most rushing yards in the nation last season. So I guess, by extension, I am saying that UCLA will have one of the best rushing offenses in the nation this fall.

I already predicted that the Bruin RBs (Bolu Olorunfunmi, Soso Jamabo, Joshua Kelley and Kazmeir Allen) will collectively gain over 3,000 yards, so adding in quarterback runs, other running back runs, and receivers that carry the ball, it is a stretch, but the Bruins could gain over 4,400 yards. If anything, I will give UCLA a floor of 4,000.

It will be quite the accomplished feat if the Bruins can achieve that many yards, but remember, these are just bold predictions.

7. UCLA will win the South Division

Now I’m not saying UCLA is going to become this almighty West Coast powerhouse overnight, but they have the ability to win the division for several reasons. Yes, Chip Kelly will be taking over with a talented group of coaches helping out, which should bring about a lot of progress in 2018, but the South Division has a lot of question marks after several programs have gone through massive changes.

Can USC survive the post-Sam Donald era? Can Kevin Sumlin bring Arizona back from irrelevance? Is this Utah’s year to finally win the South Division? Will Arizona State sink or swim with Herm Edwards? Is Colorado even a candidate?

If anything, the fight for the South should be a battle to the end as several teams have a shot at winning the division. I don’t necessarily think UCLA will stomp on teams, at least in year one of the Chip Kelly era, but I do expect them to take advantage of some of the other South Division team’s misfortunes.

With that being said, go get that division coach!

8. Chip Kelly will be Pac-12 Coach of the Year

Now it’s time to go out on a few limbs here (as if the rushing prediction wasn’t big enough). The first one being that Chip Kelly, who is known for being a fantastic football coach, especially on the offensive side, will win the Pac-12 Coach of the Year Award.

Winning this award does not mean that the coach has a team that constantly beats up on others week in and week out, but rather, it shows the progress a coach has made with his program in a single year.

Additionally, it should be noted that Chip Kelly has assembled an incredible coaching staff, setting him up for success on both sides of the ball.

Previewing what was done in the spring, there have been a lot of positive changes for UCLA which will help them succeed in 2018. On top of that, coaching has already amplified the talents of many individual players and because of that, I think we will also see several Bruins breakout this fall. Only a true coach of the year knows how to do that.

9. UCLA will get to a New Year’s Day bowl

Here we go with another huge bold prediction. UCLA will play in a New Year’s Day bowl.

I’ve already predicted that UCLA will win the South Division. This is because by the end of 2018, the Bruins should be running on all cylinders in Chip Kelly’s system. That will help push them towards postseason success.

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Let’s start with the first step in this process. If UCLA wins the division, they take on the North Division winner, which could be Washington or Stanford. Having played the Caridnal and Huskies once already during the 2018 season, Kelly will know what to expect from either them. If he does not beat either, he should put on a very solid showing which will impress the College Football Playoff committee. And because of that UCLA will get the nod for one of the New Year’s Day bowl games.

Preferably, it would be nice for UCLA to get back to the Rose Bowl but the Fiesta Bowl will also do.

Once again, remember these are just predictions, bold ones at that. I would like to say that UCLA could win the national championship, but I’m trying to base these predictions in some sort of reality.

With that being said and keeping in mind Kelly’s track record of improving football teams, from what we’ve seen in spring, the Bruins look to have a very competitive squad next season and as I stated before, unlike the Jim Mora era, there will probably be a few games that the Bruins win which they probably shouldn’t.

That is what Kelly brings to the Bruins.

10. UCLA will have nine players selected to the 2019 NFL Draft

This prediction one goes a little beyond the 2018 season, but it will be a direct result of the progress Chip Kelly has made in year one. Not only will he bring this team together in his first season, but he’s also going to bring out the best in several of his players. Nine of whom Go Joe Bruin have already prediced will be taken in the 2019 NFL Draft

RELATED: Nine Bruins predicted to go in the 2019 NFL Draft

Whoever said the cupboard is bare has really not been paying attention to the Bruins. Yes, they lose key members of their squad like Josh Rosen, Kolton Miller, Kenny Young and Jordan Lasley (just to name a few), but the cupboard is far from bare.

On defense, players like Keisean Lucier-South, Nate Meadors and Adarius Pickett should all have stand out seasons which will be backed by the teachings of the new defensive coach’s aggressive schemes. Giving these players the chance to spread their wings and show off their talents will only improve their stock for next year’s draft.

On offense, it is clear that some of the fire power they had in 2017 is gone, but there are still a number of players that could and should have breakout seasons in 2018, those of which will garner them attention by NFL executives. Andre James, Caleb Wilson, Theo Howard… these are just a few players that should benefit and excel in the new system.

Next: The 30 Greatest UCLA Football Players of All-Time

There is no doubt the Bruins will have an interesting 2018, but with Kelly in charge, the potential to succeed is there, so do not be surprised if one (or all) of these predictions come true. Also, don’t be surprised if none of them don’t. That is what 2019 is for.