Tag: UCLA football

USC fans can pull a doubleheader in LA on November 23

It’s a blockbuster USC sports doubleheader on November 23. You can go to Galen Center for women’s hoops and then to Pasadena for football versus UCLA.

On Monday, the kickoff time was announced for the annual Crosstown Showdown rivalry game between USC and UCLA. On Saturday, November 23, the Trojans and Bruins will battle under the lights at the Rose Bowl. Kickoff of the Battle of Los Angeles is set for 7:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The game will be televised on NBC. Earlier that afternoon, the USC women’s basketball team will play a marquee early season game when the Women of Troy host Notre Dame at the Galen Center. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. Pacific, also on NBC.

For USC football and basketball fans in Los Angeles, this sets up a dream doubleheader scenario. Fans will be able to catch the basketball game in its entirety, then head over to the Rose Bowl for the football game. Even with LA traffic, there should still be plenty of time for tailgating prior to kickoff.

Even for those who will not be able to attend, it will still be incredibly convenient: NBC will televise both matchups nationally, so fans will not even need to change the channel.

For good measure, the peacock network will also televise Notre Dame football’s showdown with undefeated Army in between these two USC games. Hence, NBC’s schedule for Saturday, November 23 is (Pacific time):

1 p.m.: USC-Notre Dame women’s basketball

4 p.m.: Notre Dame football

7:30 p.m.: USC football versus UCLA

It sets up an exciting day in the spotlight for the Trojans and the Fighting Irish, leading up to their showdown on the football field the following week on Nov. 30.

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The brutal truth is that UCLA’s DeShaun Foster has outcoached Lincoln Riley

No one can debate that DeShaun Foster has gotten more out of minimal UCLA talent than Lincoln Riley has extracted from his USC team in 2024.

Few if any people thought this would happen before the 2024 college football season began, but at this point, we have to admit it is true and reflects reality. Yes, UCLA football coach DeShaun Foster has outcoached USC football boss Lincoln Riley in 2024. It feels jarring and disorienting to say it, but it’s true. How can it not be? UCLA has a chance to make a bowl game this season, something which didn’t seem very likely when the Bruins stumbled early and faced a daunting Big Ten schedule. USC started 2-0 this season and seemed to have a chance to achieve something. Yet, everything has spiraled for USC, all while UCLA has made steady improvements.

UCLA has done something USC has not done this season: Win a Big Ten road game. Moreover, UCLA has done so multiple times, winning at both Rutgers and Nebraska. UCLA has also beaten Iowa, all while USC has failed to beat Maryland and Minnesota. You can’t say UCLA has had an easier schedule than USC in the Big Ten, yet the Bruins and Trojans have carved out relatively similar resumes. This much is clear, too: UCLA has overperformed expectations while USC has underperformed, and it’s not even close.

There’s only one question left: Can Foster and UCLA actually beat USC and Riley later this month? That would be the ultimate humiliation for the Trojans if it happens.

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College Sports Wire has Iowa beating UCLA as ‘Best Bet of the Week’

Iowa picked here again.

The UCLA Bruins and Iowa Hawkeyes are facing off in a tough Big Ten Conference showdown on Friday night.

Iowa has six wins on the year and UCLA has back-to-back wins as DeShaun Foster’s program is heading in the right direction following a rough start.

Ahead of the game, a lot of people are picking Iowa, and rightfully so, even with UCLA’s recent surge as of late.

Patrick Conn of College Sports Wire picked Iowa to cover the spread and even had Iowa beating UCLA as his “Best Bet of the Week.”

“I am looking at the Iowa Hawkeyes (-6) matchup against the UCLA Bruins. While UCLA has played better in recent weeks, there has been an offensive explosion by Iowa. Not sure the Hawkeyes get to 40 points for the fourth time in five games but they handle UCLA this weekend.”

Sure, UCLA has played better, but Iowa is a tough team, even with Cade McNamara not playing. 

Expert score prediction: Nebraska vs. UCLA

The Huskers are looking for their sixth win of the season.

This is arguably the biggest game remaining on Nebraska’s schedule. The UCLA Bruins are 2-5 with wins over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. If the Huskers can’t grab their sixth win here, they’ll be in trouble for the rest of the season.

The Bruins sit in an interesting spot with their 2-5 record. UCLA took down a struggling Rutgers team that looked baffled defensively against them and could not deliver simple stops. 

Ethan Garbers delivered his best performance of the season against the Scarlet Knights, going 32-of-38 for 383 yards and four touchdowns. He also led UCLA in rushing, going for 48 yards and a touchdown off nine carries.

But the Bruins’ defense still surrendered 32 points to the Scarlet Knights, who almost came back from a 35-19 deficit. Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis completed 18-of-30 for 287 yards, while Kyle Monangai rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns off 19 carries.

Nebraska’s offense is looking to wake up following three lackluster performances, and UCLA is the team to do it against. The Bruins have allowed over 20 points in six games and over 30 points in four games.

However, teams that trampled UCLA challenged the Bruins at the line, and downfield, areas Nebraska has either struggled to dominate or just avoided as of late. If the Huskers want to win this battle on offense, it needs to fix that, or at the very least, take a step in the right direction in this game.

But it’s not just Nebraska’s offense that needs to win on the day. Though the Huskers defensively held Ohio State to 21 points, they must be cautious with UCLA’s passing offense. The Bruins average just over 64 rushing yards per game but over 237 passing yards.

The Huskers’ passing defense remains their biggest weakness overall. In Nebraska’s three losses, the Huskers surrendered a combined 716 passing yards and ten touchdowns off 58 completions. To top it all off, Nebraska forced just 15 total incompletions in that span.

With Garbers’ recent outing being his season-best, the Huskers cannot allow for another quarterback to leave them lost.

The last time Nebraska won a bowl game, it defeated UCLA in 2015. Now, the opportunity to snap an eight-year bowl-game drought arrives with the Bruins again.

This needs to be the game the Huskers end the drought, otherwise the likelihood of another 5-7 season goes up significantly.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 27, UCLA 13

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UCLA has reached out to Indiana transfer WR

This would be a huge get for the Bruins.

The UCLA Bruins have not found success this year with DeShaun Foster as the head coach. Moreover, their introduction to the Big Ten Conference has been brutal. 

The first Rose Bowl Big Ten Conference clash was a blowout loss to the Indiana Hoosiers, who have now started the year 6-0 and are in the top 25.

However, the Bruins are already thinking ahead and getting in front of things in the transfer portal. Recently, Indiana WR Donaven McCulley decided to enter the portal, and it turns out UCLA is one of a number of schools to express interest thus far, per a report from Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz.

“Indiana WR Donaven McCulley has heard from more than a dozen schools since entering the portal, a source tells @mzenitz and I for @247Sports/@CBSSports.’ 

The schools McCulley has heard from include UCLA, and here are the rest:

  • Maryland
  • Baylor
  • Michigan State
  • Cincinnati
  • UCF
  • Houston
  • Cal
  • Colorado
  • SMU
  • Alabama
  • Michigan
  • Virginia Tech
  • Missouri
  • LSU
  • Notre Dame
  • Miami (FL)
  • USC

McCulley caught 48 passes for 644 yards and six touchdowns a year ago for Indiana, but he has become a lesser option with a lot of new faces in town that came along with Curt Cignetti.

Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see UCLA doing due diligence in the portal right now.

UCLA checks in at in 85th latest CBS Sports 134

The UCLA Bruins dropped to 8th in the latest CBS Sports 134.

Without playing a game in Week Two, the UCLA Bruins dropped to 85th in the latest CBS Sports rankings of all 134 teams. The Bruins settle in just behind Houston and Mississippi State, and just ahead of former Pac-12 rival Stanford, along with Wake Forest.

The Bruins opponent in Week Three – the Indiana Hoosiers made a large jump from 74th to 63, scoring 77 points in Western Illinois. The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, who UCLA beat in Week One checks in at 114th, down 7 spots, also not playing in Week Three.

The top of the rankings stayed the same with the Georgia Bulldogs coming in at #1. Texas moved from 3rd to #2 with their win at Michigan. Ohio State dropped a spot to #3. Alabama and Ole Miss rounded out the Top 5.

Out of the Big Ten, Penn State is 6th, Oregon 9th, USC 10th. The defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines check in at 19th, dropping from 11th last week. Nebraska and Illinois were two of the biggest risers. The Cornhuskers moved from 29th to 21st, and Illinois went from 51st to 28th.

The biggest mover in the rankings was Northern Illinois. This is what Chip Patteson at CBS Sports had to say about the Huskies:

No surprise to see the Huskies as the biggest and most notable riser in the CBS Sports 134 after not just one of the biggest wins in program history but one of the biggest wins in MAC history. Prior to Saturday, no MAC team had ever beaten a top-five opponent (0-51). Now, thanks to NIU and Thomas Hammock, that record is 1-51.

On the other side, the biggest dropper of the week was the Kentucky Wildcats.

South Carolina made a big jump after its win at Kentucky, and the voters made the necessary move to drop the Wildcats behind the Gamecocks. Unfortunately for Kentucky, that means one of the most notable week-to-week drops of the CBS Sports 134 as the team was knocking on the door of the top 25 coming out of Week 1.

At the bottom of the rankings remained the Temple Owls.

UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster at local high school football game Friday

UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster was in attendance Friday night for the big game between Mater Dei and Bishop Gorman.

With a week off from game action, UCLA Bruins head football coach DeShaun Foster was doing a little recruiting on Friday night. Coach Foster was spotted at the local high school football showdown between Mater Dei and Bishop Gorman.

The game was full of local stars, featuring Oregon commit Nasir Wyatt, LSU receiver Derek Meadows, Ohio State commit Chris Henry Jr, and defensive tackle James Carrington.

The first touchdown of the game came from Oregon commit Jordon Davison. Henry Jr. also scored an early touchdown to give Mater Dei an early 14-point lead in the game.  It came from Washington commit, quarterback Dash Bierley. Mater Dei went up 21-7 in the third quarter with yet another Davison touchdown. He finished the game with 90 yards on 19 carries, and those two touchdowns. Mater Dei won the game 31-15.

Foster and the Bruins will host the Indiana Hoosiers on September 14th. That will be their first-ever Big Ten Conference game. Indiana comes into the game with a 2-0 record. The Hoosiers are coming off a 77-3 win over Western Illinois on Friday.

DeShaun Foster discusses 4th down offensive strategy

DeShaun Foster won his first game as the head coach at UCLA. But, not without some questions on 4th down choices.

DeShaun Foster came up against one of the first big moves of the season in the 16-13 win over Hawaii on Saturday   In a tight game, the Bruins were 4th and five, and had a decision to make. Foster ultimately elected for a field goal. One of the moves common for head football coaches that can oftentimes backfire on them.

Foster’s Bruins eventually won the game 16-13, which took him off the hook for the time being, but he was asked about his 4th down philosophy as a head coach. Here is what Foster told Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times:

“It depends on the situation. With the momentum going, I probably was gonna go for it. Then, they end up calling a timeout so we kicked the field goal.”

He was then asked about the 4th-and-5 situation:

“Yeah, I just didn’t like the situation at the time”

Fortunately for Foster, his kicker Mateen Bhaghani nailed the final three field goals after Blake Glessner missed the first one. It appears Glessner is going to be on the field for the long field goal attempts, while Bhaghani will take the others.

The next time Foster will get a chance to make 4th down decisions is September 14th, as the Bruins host the Indiana Hoosiers in their first-ever Big Ten affair.

UCLA Football drops 28 spots in CBS Sports Power Rankings

UCLA takes a tumble in the NCAA Football rankings from CBS Sports.

Despite a 16-13 win in the opening week of College Football, the UCLA Bruins dropped 28 spots in the CBS Sports Power Rankings. The Bruins, who started the season at 62 fell to 80th. Florida State and Florida were the only teams that fell more in the rankings. The Seminoles dropped from 13th to 48th.  The Gators went from 38 to 71st. Virginia Tech also dropped 28 spots. The biggest jump was Vanderbilt, who went from 91st to 45tt.

The Bruins settled in just one spot ahead of former Pac-12 rival Stanford, and just behind the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

UCLA will take this weekend off. DeShaun Foster will get his team ready for the Big Ten season opener on September 14th. That game is the first of the season at the Rose Bowl. The Indiana Hoosiers come to town. Indiana checked in just ahead of the Bruins at 74. That is up 9 spots from preseason 93.

The top five in the rankings are the Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas Longhorns, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame made the biggest jump, up three spots. Hawaii, who is now 1-1 on the season fell from 104th to 107th.

In the Big Ten, Penn State is 6th, Oregon 7th, Michigan 11th, USC 12th and Nebraska 29th.

UCLA football expects two offensive linemen to return against Indiana

Two early season injuries for UCLA Football are set to return against Indiana.

UCLA football head coach DeShaun Foster spoke to the media on Wednesday. This was the first time since postgame that the head coach talked about his team to the media. He was asked about two of his keys on the offensive side of the ball.

As the team practiced at Spaulding Field, two notable names Garret DiGiorgio and Rueben Unije were not on the field. But, the Bruins do expect both of them to return for the September 14th game against the Indiana Hoosiers. This is what Coach Foster had to say when asked about them both:

“They should be back, but probably not today.”

Reuben Unije is 310lbs from Alpharetta Georgia. He started his college career at Louisville in January, but transferred in April, and later committed to UCLA.

Garrett DiGiorgio is also 310 lbs. He is a redshirt Junior, who came from Oak Hills California. DiGiorgio played in 13 games for the Bruins in 2024. He was a good part of the reason the Bruins led the Pac-12 in rushing yards per game last season. He suffered a minor left ankle injury on August 10th.