Where UCLA Football is ranked in the newest WTE and B1G rankings

UCLA might be getting some preseason respect for a few reasons in the way too early preseason rankings.

• Strong 2023 Season: UCLA won their bowl game and won victories over USC, Washington State, and Boise State to finish with eight wins last season.
• Coaching Changes: UCLA brought in a new head coach DeShaun Foster and a well-respected offensive coordinator in Eric Bieniemy. The coaching change has energized the program and made fans begin to believe again that the Bruins can contend in the future for a spot in the expanded college football playoffs.
• Key Returning Players: UCLA brings back their starting quarterback from last season, an experienced running back, and some productive receivers from last season. However, they did lose some key player from their outstanding defense from last year. Returning talent is a big factor in preseason rankings and the Bruins have done a decent job of adding key transfers from the transfer port this offseason.
• Transfer Portal Success: UCLA brought in over 15 transfers this offseason as they landed some coveted transfers that can see their preseason stock rise in these preseason rankings.

National Preseason Football rankings

Big Ten Preseason rankings

Overall, many publications have UCLA not ranked in their top 25 preseason rankings and in the bottom half of their Big Ten preseason ranking heading into the 2024 season. However, the Bruins have a new coaching staff and a reliable returning quarterback in Ethan Garbers for this upcoming season and an eight-win season like in 2023 is not out of the picture. Many national sites have UCLA winning between six and seven games in 2024 but it is very difficult to predict how the Bruins and any other Division One football team will do in 2024.

Preseason power rankings are meant to be entertaining and for fanbases like UCLA for example, to envision and think about how the Bruins will do for the 2024 football season. Time will tell how many victories will earn this upcoming season but it is fun to look at what others believe UCLA will do in football as a new member of the Big Ten Conference.