Had Brett Hundley come back to school for his senior season, the UCLA Bruins probably would have been the favorites in the Pac-12 as well as a favorite to win the National Championship as well. As it is, Hundley left school early for the NFL, and this is now a team which feels like it is a quarterback away from contending.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: vs. Virginia
9/12: at UNLV
9/19: vs. BYU
9/26: at Arizona
10/3: vs. Arizona State
10/15: at Stanford
10/22: vs. California
10/31: vs. Colorado
11/7: at Oregon State
11/14: vs. Washington State
11/21: at Utah
11/28: at USC
The schedule isn't an easy one for the Bruins this year, as they have two very losable games outside of conference play against Virginia and BYU, games which will be made more complicated by the fact that they are both early in the season.
Road games at Stanford, Utah and USC aren't going to be fun even if the Bruins do get through the outset of the season.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
Asking the Bruins to get beyond nine wins this year is going to be quite the chore, which is why they are lined at +160 to beat that number. There will surely be more action on under nine wins at -210, especially if this team doesn't end up finding someone to step in and succeed under center this year.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Here's the million dollar question in Westwood: Who is going to replace Brett Hundley at quarterback? Jerry Neuheisel is the only returner on the roster, though many believe that freshman Josh Rosen is the next big thing in LA. Many figured that Rosen was set to redshirt this season, but with the hole vacated by Hundley, the future could be now at UCLA.
Aside from that, literally all 10 starters are back from last year's team. Paul Perkins had 1,572 rushing yards a year ago, and he is very likely looking at more than the 250 carries he had last season.
Jordan Payton is back as the most consistent receiving option on the team, while Thomas Duarte is back as well after he averaged a team-best 19.3 yards per reception in 2014.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Myles Jack is an All-American waiting to happen at linebacker (and running back, for good measure!). Kenny Clark, Fabian Moreau and Ishmael Adams were all All-Pac-12 performers last season, and they’re expected to be just as good if not better this season.
The Bruins had some really shaky defensive games last season, which isn't out of the ordinary in the Pac-12. That said, with nine returning starters, four of which could have NFL prospects, there is an opportunity to be a much better unit in 2015.
SEASON PREDICTION
The Bruins are booking at 30 to 1 to win the National Championship this year, and they legitimately could end up being a really good bet to do so when push comes to shove. The early portion of the schedule fortunately is going to allow Rosen some room for growing pains, though when things start to ramp up in the Pac-12, problems could lie ahead.
Perkins and Jack are going to become the two bona fide leaders of this team, and if they do and stay healthy, the Bruins can beat anyone in college football. That said, they need to get over a lot of their inconsistencies if they want to legitimately compete for a CFP bid.
We're not sure that the CFP is in the cards, but a trip to the Rose Bowl certainly isn't out of the question. We'll take our chances on UCLA to win more than nine games at the heavy plus odds, but we're banking heavily on Rosen to be the real deal.
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