The college football offseason is almost over as we are halfway through July. The season will get going in about a month and a half, and college football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but also because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out in mid July. All in all, it’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is UCLA football fans. The Bruins have a big season ahead of them.
This college football season is going to be a big one for a number of reasons. The sport is going through big changes, and some of those changes are going to be seen for the first time this season. Let’s take a look at what some of them are.
First off, there are going to be some new rules seen this year in college football, and some fans aren’t really in favor of them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning. Fans have already started getting sick at all of the commercials that are happening in today’s era of college football, and the two-minute warning is another way for tv networks to get more commercial times in.
The bigger changes, however, come with conference realignment and the expanded College Football Playoff. College football is going to look completely different next year because of those two things. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has shaken things up big time in college football. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams and seem on the verge of forming two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren’t in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it’s hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
A new era for UCLA football
Speaking of new eras, the UCLA football team is entering one for a couple of reasons. First off, they are one of the teams that is moving to a new conference. The Bruins are joining USC, Oregon and Washington in the Big Ten, and that will be a big challenge for this squad as there are a lot of talented teams in the conference.
This is also a new era for UCLA because of their new head coach, DeShaun Foster. Foster is extremely familiar with the Bruins as big parts of his playing and coaching career have been spent with the team. Foster is a UCLA legend as he played football there from 1998-2001. He then went to the NFL and spent seven years in the league. He was with the Carolina Panthers from 2002-2007 and then he spent 2008 with the San Francisco 49ers.
DeShaun Foster has now been coaching since 2013, and he has spent most of his coaching career with the UCLA football team. Foster was an in an assistant role from 2013-2015 before spending the 2016 season as the running backs coach for Texas Tech. He came back to the Bruins the next year and was the RB coach until 2023, and then he was made the head coach this offseason.
Foster is a UCLA man through and through, and now he gets to lead the Bruins as the head coach of the football program. This is an exciting time for Bruins fans, and Foster's first season is about to get under way. Here are three predictions for his first year:
UCLA football will go 3-9
Unfortunately, DeShaun Foster's first season as the head coach at UCLA probably isn't going to be a very good one, but that doesn't mean he's the wrong person for the job. He didn't inherit much as the Bruins struggled mightily last year, and then he had to deal with transfer portal departures because of the head coaching change. The UCLA schedule doesn't do Foster any favors either. The Big Ten is loaded with good teams, and finding wins on that schedule won't be easy. A non-conference matchup with LSU is on there as well.
Rico Flores will lead UCLA in receiving yards
One bright spot for this UCLA football team is going to be wide receiver Rico Flores, who transferred to the Bruins from Notre Dame this offseason. Flores had a very productive first year of college football with the Fighting Irish last year as he caught 27 passes for 392 yards and one touchdown. He should have a starting role with UCLA this year, and he should be one of the best players on the offense.
Ethan Garbers will throw for under 2,500 yards
Rico Flores will be a bright spot for the UCLA offense, but there won't be many others. One positive for the Bruins is that they have Ethan Garbers back who got a lot of experience last year, but it's going to be tough for him to find success in the offense this year because the Bruins just don't have a ton of weapons on offense. Don't expect Garbers to put up any crazy numbers this year.
Year one could be a bit of a struggle for DeShaun Foster and UCLA, but it won't be the end of the world if it is. The program needs a rebuild, and it's going to take some time.
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