The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers take on the UCLA Bruins. Check out our college football odds series for our Coastal Carolina UCLA prediction and pick. Find how to watch Coastal Carolina UCLA.

The UCLA Bruins begin a new era this week: the era after Dorian Thompson-Robinson. For five seasons, the Bruins had DTR starting most if not all of their games at quarterback. Stop and realize how rare that is in the history of college sports. Usually, a freshman learns how to play in Year 1 and sits on the bench behind an upperclassman starter. If that freshman is good enough to start in his first college season, he will likely play four years, maybe three if he is an elite NFL draft pick and has a big paycheck coming his way. Playing five years is unheard of, but it happened with Dorian Thompson-Robinson because of the extra year of COVID-19 eligibility, plus the fact that had DTR left school after 2021, he probably wouldn't have rated as a high NFL draft pick. He really needed that 2022 season to develop his credentials. For five straight years, DTR worked with UCLA coach Chip Kelly and led the UCLA offense. Now, for the first time since 2017, UCLA enters a season with DTR not being part of its quarterback room. It represents quite a change.

Ethan Garbers, a veteran, will get the start for this season opener against Coastal Carolina, but hyped freshman Dante Moore figures to get some playing time. Many people think he will take over this team at some point later in the season, so it stands to reason that he will get some action at some point.

Here are the Coastal Carolina-UCLA College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Football Odds: Coastal Carolina-UCLA Odds

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: +14.5 (-110)

UCLA Bruins: -14.5 (-110)

Over: 66.5 (-110)

Under: 66.5 (-110)

How To Watch Coastal Carolina vs. UCLA

TV: ESPN

Stream: ESPN Plus

Time: 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT

*Watch Coastal Carolina vs UCLA LIVE on fuboTV (click for free trial)*

Why Coastal Carolina Could Cover the Spread

The UCLA offense is a question mark on a general level, but even more so with Ethan Garbers starting and not the super freshman Dante Moore. What's the quarterback rotation plan for Chip Kelly in this game? Do we have absolute certainty about how this is all going to work? How much of this is structured and built into Chip Kelly's long-term plan for this UCLA offense in 2023, and how much is going to be done by feel with an improvisational dimension? It is hard to pin all of this down, which certainly lends itself to a belief that this season opener will be choppy and uneven for the UCLA offense. That will enable Coastal Carolina to stay close and ultimately cover the spread in a game which will probably go under the total as well.

Why UCLA Could Cover the Spread

Ethan Garbers is no superstar, but he is a very capable quarterback with a lot of experience. He will be ready to lead this UCLA offense in the first quarter. The Bruins have a much better offensive line than Coastal Carolina's defensive line. UCLA will own that matchup, and so the questions surrounding the quarterback spot aren't as significant in this game as they will be for the Bruins in their big Pac-12 games later in the season. UCLA's quarterback spot will matter against USC and Utah and other quality teams in the conference, not so much against Coastal Carolina. The Bruins will be fine here, and they will roll to a big win.

Final Coastal Carolina-UCLA Prediction & Pick

There are so many unanswered questions going into this game, and so many plot points it is hard to get a handle on. That's not a good situation in which to place a bet. Enjoy this game without betting on it.

Final Coastal Carolina-UCLA Prediction & Pick: Coastal Carolina +14.5