UCLA Football: FBS teams the Bruins have never played

Here are teams 58 to 46 who the UCLA football team has never played in its long storied history.

Team: Old Dominion Monarchs

Conference: Sun Belt Conference

Record in 2022: 3-9

Team: Akron Zips

Conference: Mid-American Conference

Record in 2022: 2-10

Team: Northern Illinois Huskies

Conference: Mid-American Conference

Record in 2022: 3-9

Team: Kent State Golden Flashes

Conference: Mid-American Conference

Record in 2022: 5-7

Team: Massachusetts Minutemen (UMass)

Conference: Independent

Record in 2022: 1-11

Team: Charlotte 49ers

Conference: Conference USA

Record in 2022: 3-9

Team: Arkansas State Red Wolves

Conference: Sun Belt Conference

Record in 2022: 3-9

Team: James Madison Dukes

Conference: Sun Belt Conference

Record in 2022: 8-3

Team: Eastern Michigan Eagles

Conference: Mid-American Conference

Record in 2022: 9-4

Team: Connecticut Huskies (UConn)

Conference: Independent

Record in 2022: 6-7

Team: Georgia State Panthers

Conference: Sun Belt Conference

Record in 2022: 4-8

Team: Ball State Cardinals

Conference: Mid-American Conference

Record in 2022: 5-7

Team: Appalachian State Mountaineers

Conference: Sun Belt Conference

Record in 2022: 6-6

UCLA has not played certain teams from the Sun Belt Conference in football because they are not members of the same athletic conference, which is obvious. The Sun Belt Conference is a Group of Five conference, while UCLA is a Power Five conference. The Power Five conferences are considered to be the most elite conferences in college football, and they typically schedule games against each other in non-conference play to help their strength of schedule. The Group of Five conferences are not as highly regarded, and they often schedule games against Power Five teams as a way to improve their own strength of schedule in non-conference play but UCLA in its history has not scheduled Sun Belt teams mostly because Sun Belt did not begin sponsoring football until 2001.

UCLA has played a few Sun Belt teams in the past like South Alabama in 2022, but these games have been mostly games played in early non-conference play. Playing a Sun Belt team would not be as beneficial to UCLA’s strength of schedule as playing a Power Five team. Second, UCLA is located in Los Angeles, which is a major media market. UCLA games are often televised nationally, and the school would likely prefer to schedule games against other Power Five teams that would generate more interest.

Finally, it is also possible that UCLA simply does not have the opportunity to play regular-season games against Sun Belt teams. The Power Five conferences typically schedule their games well in advance, and it can be difficult to find open dates that work for both teams. Additionally, the Sun Belt Conference is located in the southeastern United States, while UCLA is located in California. This can make it logistically difficult and expensive for the two teams to play a regular-season game against each other.