Earlier this week, ESPN writers Mark Schlabach and Brett McMurphy made their post-Week 4 bowl projections. Both of them predicted UCLA to make an appearance in the second-annual College Football Playoff National Championship. Are these predictions based purely on hype? The Bruin Sports editors give their takes.
Claire Fahy, Sports editor
I’ve got to be honest, I wouldn’t mind traveling to Arizona and covering the CFP National Championship. Do I think that will happen? No. I was overwhelmed by the hype surrounding UCLA football last year during the twilight of the Brett Hundley era. Heisman Trophy … National Championship … it was as if the people making those predictions had never seen the Bruins play.
That’s what makes me shocked that, this year, media outlets have seemingly upped the ante. A national football championship appearance for a team whose season-best record under coach Jim Mora is 10-3? It seems improbable. Freshman quarterback Josh Rosen is a great player and UCLA has a strong collegiate football program, but there are other teams that are far superior.
ESPN has UCLA beating Ole Miss or Notre Dame on its way to the national title game. Those programs are on a different elite level to the Bruins, for whom it will take a few more years before they are ready to succeed to that degree.
Matt Cummings, assistant sports editor
If the Bruins reach the College Football Playoff, they’ll have earned it. With upcoming road games at No. 18 Stanford, No. 10 Utah and No. 17 USC, as well as a home matchup with No. 24 California, UCLA has just a 1.9 percent chance to win out the rest of its schedule, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
It remains to be seen whether the Bruins can contain the formidable offenses of the aforementioned opponents. The defensive line has looked great thus far, but the linebacking situation remains murky sans junior Myles Jack, and the secondary is still adjusting to the loss of Fabian Moreau.
Ultimately, though, UCLA’s title hopes likely rest on the right arm of Josh Rosen. The Bruins won’t be able to beat those ranked opponents if the freshman repeats his poor performance from the BYU game. If he plays like he did against Virginia and Arizona, though, the Bruins are certainly talented enough to reach the playoff. Consider this a tepid endorsement of UCLA’s title hopes.
Korbin Placet, assistant sports editor
I am hesitant to join the UCLA college football bandwagon. I’ll admit, after watching four games, I am confident in the Bruin offense. When Rosen isn’t playing like a veteran like he did against Virginia and Arizona, there is a strong group of running backs led by redshirt junior Paul Perkins to pick up the slack like they did against UNLV and BYU. That running back group is probably the best in the country. And when Rosen is playing up to his potential and hype, the offense is a dangerous group.
What gives me trepidation is the UCLA defense. The loss of three possible all-conference players – even possible All-Americans – is devastating, and you could see the effect last Saturday against Arizona. Allowing 353 rushing yards is, as Mora put it, embarrassing. The Bruins have depth and Mora does a good job of getting reserves reps, but it is going to take a lot to replace the likes of Jack, Moreau and junior defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes. I am going to temper my expectations until after the Stanford game on Oct. 15. That game will be the most telling if the UCLA college playoff hype is real.
Tanner Walters, assistant sports editor
It’s understandable why the national media is jumping on the UCLA bandwagon with the Bruins sitting on a clean 4-0 record, but is a shiny trophy really on a fast-track to the J.D. Morgan Center’s already-packed Hall of Champions? I think everybody needs to take a deep breath of reality, but – with that said – are McMurphy and Schlabach too ambitious in picking UCLA to reach the CFP National Championship? I’m going to say no.
The Bruins are a veteran team. Sure, Rosen is new on the scene, but he’s protected by one of the most experienced offensive lines in all of college football. Surrounding him are weapons like Perkins and senior receiver Jordan Payton – his roommate from fall camp in San Bernardino. Even Jim Mora, standing on the sidelines, exudes a sort of fiery resolve that has guided each of his teams in three years as head coach. Injuries to Vanderdoes, Moreau and – most significantly – Jack certainly hurt the Bruins.
Those injuries are my biggest concerns going forward, and the reason why people need to temper expectations to a certain degree. However, even if the ESPN analysts are riding the hype train, it’s not that unreasonable to envision UCLA in a title game.