UCLA Bruins: CFN College Football Preview 2021

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the UCLA season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the UCLA season with what you need to know.


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
Top Players | Keys To The Season
What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
UCLA Schedule Analysis
– UCLA Bruins Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

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2020 Record: 3-4 overall, 3-4 in Pac-12
Head Coach: Chip Kelly, 4th year, 10-21 (56-28 overall)
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 32
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 57
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 97

UCLA Bruins College Football Preview 2021: Offense

– The offense is starting to work. It has taken a few years, and it’s not the high-octane thrill ride a Chip Kelly attack is supposed to be, but the pieces are in place now to do even more.

The 2020 version cranked up 455 yards and 35 points per game, scoring 34 or more in every game but the wins over Arizona and Arizona State.

There’s balance, there are options, and there’s a whole lot of experience and depth to play around with. Ten starters are expected back, but it’s actually an even better situation.

The quarterback situation is set. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been around from the start of the Kelly era, growing into the role as a decent runner and more accurate, effective passer.

Main backup Chase Griffin returns, too, but Washington transfer Ethan Garbers is a big talent to groom for the near future.

Leading yardage receiver Greg Dulcich is back, and the 6-4, 242-pound junior combines tight end forces with the 268-pound Mike Martinez.

The wide receivers are strong, too, with junior Kyle Philips leading the team – for the second year in a row – with 38 catches as a midrange target. There’s nice size and experience across the roster.

Leading rushers Demetric Felton is gone, but Brittain Brown is more than fine carrying the load – he averaged 6.6 yards per carry with 543 yards and four scores – Keegan Jones can add a little flash, and in the mix is Michigan veteran Zach Charbonnet to bring more punch.

All five starters return to the offensive line that paved the way for the nation’s 12th-best running game and was decent enough in pass protection to get by. There’s a decent mix of size, experience, and athleticism for this offense around all-star caliber center Sam Marrazzo. Don’t blow this off as par for the course – it took a long, LONG time for UCLA to have a decent offensive front.

– What You Need To Know: Defense
Top Players | Keys To The Season
What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
UCLA Schedule Analysis

NEXT: UCLA Bruins College Football Preview 2021: Defense

College Football News Preview 2020: UCLA Bruins

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the UCLA Bruins season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the UCLA Bruins season with what you need to know.


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
Schedule Analysis
– UCLA Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

2019 Record: 4-8 overall, 4-5 in Pac-12
Head Coach: Chip Kelly, 3rd year, 7-17
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 51
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 97
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 34

No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.

5. College Football News Preview 2020: UCLA Bruins Offense 3 Things To Know

Eventually this offense is going to work … right? After all, it’s Chip Kelly, offensive coordinator Justin Frye also works with the O line, and the youth movement from the last few years might finally start to pay off.

The Bruins averaged over 400 yards per game, but they only managed to come up with more than 18 points six times. There were major power outages, way too many turnovers, and lousy pass protection that didn’t help the overall cause – the Bruins were 120th in the nation in sacks allowed.


CFN in 60 Video: UCLA Bruins Preview
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Start there. Kelly and Frye inherited a bad offensive line situation, and they haven’t been able to make it a whole lot stronger. By the end of last year they started two freshmen and one sophomore, and now they get three starters back – Murray, the then-sophomore, has transferred to Oklahoma – who should know what they’re doing.

Finally, the backfield might just be good enough to do some steady damage. QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson is in his third year, and while it’s been rocky, he has had his moments. the 507-yard, five touchdown day against Washington State was fantastic – but just not enough of them.

He threw for over 2,700 yards with 21 touchdowns and 12 picks, but he’ll be pushed hard by former Washington transfer Colson Yankoff, a 6-4 former star recruit who can run. Also potentially in the mix is one of the team’s top recruits, Parker McQuarrie out of New Hampshire – a 6-7, 208-pound pro-style bomber who might just be thrown to the wolves right away.

RB Joshua Kelley is off being a Los Angeles Charger, but Demetric Felton is a veteran who finished second on the team with 331 yards. Martell Irby is a smallish quick back who fits the system, and in comes Brittain Brown from Duke, a bigger back who can do a little of everything.

– Tight end Devin Asiasi took off and now he’s a New England Patriot, but the top four other targets are back. Leading receiver Kyle Philips is back after catching 60 passes for 681 yards and five scores – he has high-volume potential – and 6-4 junior Chase Cota is a big target on the outside.

The depth took a hit, though, with three tight ends transferring and WR Theo Howard leaving for Oklahoma. Even so, there are enough decent parts to start doing more for the passing game.

NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: UCLA Bruins Defense 3 Things To Know

San Jose State at UCLA: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More

San Jose State at UCLA: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More Spartans looking to regain form against formidable foes Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire Prioleau has tinkered with his lineups, but can he find the right formula? …

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San Jose State at UCLA: Game Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds, More


Spartans looking to regain form against formidable foes


Contact/Follow @andrewdieckhoff & @MWCwire

Prioleau has tinkered with his lineups, but can he find the right formula?

WHO: San Jose State (3-4, 0-0 MWC) at ULCA (5-3, 0-0 Pac-12)

WHEN: Sunday, December 1 — 5:00 P.M. PT / 6:00 P.M. MT

WHERE: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA

WATCH: Pac-12 Network (cable subscription required); Get a free one-week trial of FuboTV.

LISTEN: TuneIn

ALL-TIME RECORD: UCLA leads the series, 8-1

ODDS: UCLA -17, per KenPom

PREVIEW: San Jose State will be looking for an upset victory on Sunday night as they travel down to Pauley Pavilion to do battle with UCLA.

The Spartans come into the game on the heels of two disappointing losses to Portland State and Oregon State. Things were looking up for Jean Prioleau’s team after beating Hofstra in the opener and snagging another early win over a Grambling State squad that could win the SWAC.

But the other shoe dropped hard, with SJSU losing their last two games by a combined 50 points.

This drop in production comes at an unideal time for a team that plays its next four games against UCLA, Utah State, San Diego State, and Stanford. In fact, the Bruins might be the easiest opponent of the Spartans’ upcoming slate.

The Bruins also find themselves in the midst of a slide. After starting the year at 4-0, UCLA has lost three of its last four. They picked up a cheap win over Chaminade, the host of the Maui Invitational, but otherwise dropped games against Hofstra, BYU, and Michigan State.

Mick Cronin’s side saw early success going inside to big man Jalen Hill, but the redshirt sophomore has gone quiet in the past two games. Hill scored in single digits against both the Cougars and the Spartans after a 24-point explosion against Hofstra.

Nobody else on the Bruins has consistently stepped up when Hill has struggled.

Prince Ali, Tyger Campbell, and Cody Riley are all capable options, but none of them appear to playing at a level to truly take over a game as the primary scorer. UCLA was able to skate through their first four games, but their lack of scoring punch outside of hill has exposed a weakness that other teams can and should exploit.

That means that the San Jose State frontcourt will have their work cut out for them on Sunday evening.

Prioleau ran out a new starting lineup for the first time against the Beavers on Wednesday, starting former Wake Forest big man Samuel Japhet-Mathias. The transfer center responded by scoring a team-leading 10 points. Omari Moore also started in place Seneca Knight but had little impact in just 15 minutes on the floor.

Knight and fellow double-digit scorer Richard Washington Jr. combined to shoot just 2-for-15 off the bench. They have been the Spartans’ leading scorers over the first handful of games, but were nowhere to be found in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Shooting woes also followed Christian Anigwe, who shot 1-for-8 against Oregon State. The sophomore forward did secure 14 rebounds and block three shots, though.

But those issues are just about the shots they actually get off. Nearly a quarter of the Spartans’ possessions never make it that far, instead ending in a turnover. To put that in context, San Jose State ranks 308th in turnover rate, per KenPom.

There’s a lot that Jean Prioleau needs to get cleaned up if SJSU stands a chance at UCLA. But on the bright side for the Spartans, they’re catching the Bruins on a cold streak.

Prediction: UCLA 81, San Jose State 63

Andrew is a current USBWA member, covering college basketball for multiple outlets, including Mountain West Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Busting Brackets of the FanSided Network. He also runs the Dieckhoff Power Index, a college basketball analytics system, and provides bracketology predictions throughout the season.

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