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UCLA Football Early 2018 Schedule Preview: Oklahoma Sooners

By Mike Crawford

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Head Coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners calls a play from the sidelines in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Head Coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners calls a play from the sidelines in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma Special Teams

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It’s been reported that special teams have been a main point of emphasis for the Sooners during its spring practices.

During the early part of the offseason, the Sooners hired Georgia’s Shane Beamer to revamp the special teams. In his time with the Bulldogs, Georgia ranked eighth in net punting average with nearly 42 yards per punt.

Beamer and the Sooners will look to fix their special teams woes as Oklahoma didn’t score a touchdown on a kickoff or punt return in 2017.

Special teams might be the Sooners’ biggest weakness in 2018.  Should the Bruins capitalize on this weak link, then they may have found their way to down Oklahoma.

Final Analysis

September 8 has the potential to be a very long day for the Bruins. But this is to be expected considering all the turnover UCLA has been working with this offseason (I.E. a new coach, a new quarterback, a young offensive line, a revamped defense, etc.).  It will truly be UCLA’s first big test of the Chip Kelly era.

Should Kelly and his Bruins ride the momentum from their potential season-opening win over Cincinnati and find their groove on both sides of the ball early on, then there might be a chance UCLA could put up a fight against the nation’s No. 3 team.

However, as the Bruins have not won a road game since its victory over BYU on September 17, 2016, its entirely likely that UCLA will be handed its 11th-straight road loss by the Sooners.

Next: UCLA Football: 10 bold predictions for the 2018 season

Prediction

Oklahoma 45 – UCLA 14