UCLA did not play well over all in their 43-10 loss at home against Utah but hope to bounce back in a big way as the go on the road to take on UNLV.
Going into the season, UCLA was projected to be the favorite entering this game but now that the Bruins lost by 33 points at home in their season opener and UNLV won their first two games of the season, that is no longer the case. According to ESPN Analytics, UNLV is a 73% favorite to defeat UCLA. However, as the now ESPN Gameday retired host Lee Corso has famously said, Not so fast my friend."
As is always the case, many fans overreact to season-opening losses. Season openers are not a true indicator of how the season will go for the vast majority of FBS teams in college football. No. 8-ranked Alabama lost by two touchdowns to unranked Florida State, No. 4-ranked Clemson lost by a touchdown at home to LSU, and No. 25-ranked Boise State lost by 27 to unranked South Florida.
Now, if UCLA loses to UNLV, many Bruin fans will have a legitimate argument that the team will not qualify for a bowl game, as it did last season. However, head coach DeShaun Foster and his staff should be given the benefit of the doubt as they plan to take on UNLV in week two play.
The Rebels are 2-0 this season, but a closer look reveals that it is not as impressive as it seems. Both teams UNLV defeated are 0-2 for one, and one of those teams is an FCS team, which is Idaho State. The Bengals, who play in the Big Sky conference and had a losing record last year, put up 31 points on UNLV's defense on the road. The Rebels then went on the road to play Conference USA opponent Sam Houston State, giving up 21 points and being outscored in the fourth quarter by the Bearkats.
Yes, the UCLA defense needs to drastically improve from their week one performance and yes, the offense needs to score more than one touchdown in this game but the fact that Bruin fans have given up on the season after one game is an overreaction. Time will tell, but UCLA football at minimum, should be able to get a chance to prove to their fans to belived in them for at least another week.