The UCLA Bruins have had a rough start to their first season in the Big Ten. The combined record of UCLA’s Big Ten opponents through the first six weeks of the college football season, including Indiana, Penn State, and Oregon, was a perfect 15-0.
Thankfully, UCLA finally has an opponent in Minnesota that has shown signs of weakness.
Coming to California, the Golden Gophers are an even .500 at 3-3. Coming off a gutsy 24-17 upset against USC, Minnesota could be in danger of walking into a “trap game” against UCLA, where they could come out flat against an inferior opponent.
Writer Ryan Burns for Gophers Illustrated sees several windows of opportunity for the Bruins this week.
While Burns believes the Golden Gophers will win 24-16, he writes, “Let’s see if this 2024 Gopher team can do it two weeks in a row. It has been confounding to me that such a veteran team, which this squad is, has slipped on the banana peel they put down as often as they have.”
If UCLA can catch mistake-prone Minnesota team on an off week, the Bruins offense and defense could lead the Bruins to their first win in Big Ten play.