Countdown to Kickoff Day 21: #30 UCLA Bruins

Chip Kelly is officially back to being one of the best college football coaches in the country. It took him a couple years to rebuild a UCLA program that was slowly but surely going down the drain, but the last two years we have seen glimpses of his dominant days at Oregon. Going 8-4 in 2021 and 9-4 last year, making it as high as #9 in the AP poll. They will lose a couple of key pieces on both sides of the ball which may result in a minor setback at first, but I think Chip Kelly continues his winning ways this year and will continue to raise the stock of the Bruin's football program in the years to come.

The departure of Dorian Thompson-Robinson at QB and Zach Charbonnet at RB will hurt, but the UCLA faithful will gladly welcome in five star recruit, Dante Moore as their new leader at QB and 1,000 yard rusher, Carson Steele as their lead back. This year may be looked at as a trial run for this offense full of fresh faces before they begin their Big 10 era next year, but if this offense can learn to play together and click early in the season they will be a threat to take home the Pac-12 championship.

On defense, the Bruins will be under new leadership. D’Anthon Lynn comes in from the Baltimore Ravens and will be tasked with improving a defense that ranked in the hundreds in plays that resulted in ten yards or more last season. This unit is highlighted by some high level talent in Laiatu Latu, Grayson Murphy, Gabriel Murphy, and Jordan Anderson, but will have some holes in the defensive line that could cost them.

Prediction: 8-4. I do believe UCLA will be competitive for the Pac-12 title, but there will be some growing pains in the offense and defense and they may not be able to keep up.

How Many Games Will UCLA Win In 2023

• 8 or more
• 7 or less