UCLA Football: FBS teams the Bruins have never played
By Ryan Kay
Here now are teams 45 to 31 who the Bruins football team has never played throughout the history of its program.
RedHawks . 45. team. 2243. . .
Team: Miami (OH) Redhawks
Conference: Mid-American Conference
Record in 2022: 6-7
Team: FIU Golden Panthers
Conference: Conference USA
Record in 2022: 4-8
43. team. 403. . . . Chippewas
Team: Central Michigan Chippewas
Conference: Mid-American Conference
Record in 2022: 4-8
Bobcats . 42. team. 2375. . .
Team: Texas State Bobcats
Conference: Sun Belt Conference
Record in 2022: 4-8
2119. . . . Bulldogs . 41. team
Team: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Conference: Conference USA
Record in 2022: 3-9
. . Bobcats . 40. team. 2247.
Team: Ohio Bobcats
Conference: Mid-American Conference
Record in 2022: 10-4
Team: UTEP Miners
Conference: Conference USA
Record in 2022: 5-7
Team: Buffalo Bulls
Conference: Mid-American Conference
Record in 2022: 7-6
. . . Pirates . 37. team. 932
Team: East Carolina Pirates
Conference: American Athletic Conference
Record in 2022: 8-5
405. . . . Broncos . 36. team
Team: Western Michigan Broncos
Conference: Mid-American Conference
Record in 2022: 5-7
. . Thundering Herd . 35. team. 494.
Team: Marshall Thundering Herd
Conference: Sun Belt Conference
Record in 2022: 9-4
Team: Toledo Rockets
Conference: Mid-American Conference
Record in 2022: 9-5
. . . Southern Eagles . 33. team. 2413
Team: Georgia Southern Eagles
Conference: Sun Belt Conference
Record in 2022: 6-7
. . Roadrunners . 32. team. 2410.
Team: UTSA Roadrunners
Conference: Conference USA
Record in 2022: 11-3
31. team. 2369. . . . Blazers
Team: UAB Blazers
Conference: Conference USA
Record in 2022: 7-6
UCLA has not played certain teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in football for a few reasons but did play Bowling Green during the 2022 season.
Scheduling conflicts. The Power Five conferences (including the Pac-12, where UCLA is a member) typically schedule their games well in advance, and it can be difficult to find open dates that work for both teams. Additionally, the MAC is located in the Midwest, 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.
Strength of schedule. UCLA is a traditional power in college football, and they typically schedule games against other traditional powers. Playing a MAC team would not be as beneficial to UCLA’s strength of schedule as playing a Power Five team as described earlier with scheduling teams from the Sun Belt conference.
Media markets. 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 like teams from the ACC and or Big Ten.
It is likely that UCLA will continue to schedule games against Power Five teams in the future, as these games are more beneficial to the school’s strength of schedule and media exposure.