With Eric Bieniemy now in tow as the team's Offensive Coordinator, head coach DeShaun Foster can look ahead to the beginning of the 2024 College Football season.
The schedule makers did not do UCLA any favors. In the program's inaugural season in the Big Ten, the Bruins play in three very hostile environments (Penn State, Washington, Nebraska) -- not to mention having to play in Baton Rouge versus the LSU Tigers.
The home schedule isn't much easier. UCLA will host a stingy Iowa team, a plucky yet difficult foe in Fresno State, a team projected to be among the best in the country in Oregon, and -- of course -- crosstown rival USC.
Suffice it to say, but this is one of the more difficult slates in the country.
UCLA HOME OPPONENTS: Indiana, Oregon, Minnesota, Iowa, USC, Fresno State
UCLA AWAY OPPONENTS: Hawaii, LSU, Penn State, Nebraska, Rutgers, Washington
Earlier this week, FanDuel came out with UCLA's O/U as it pertained to wins and losses for this upcoming year.
According to FanDuel, the site set UCLA's O/U at 5.5 wins. The 'over' is -158, whereas the 'under' is +128.
2024 Big Ten Conference Title Odds from FanDuel:
— WestCoastCFB (@WestCoastCFB) February 27, 2024
1. Ohio State +155
2. Oregon +250
3. Michigan +460
4. Penn St +600
5. USC +2300
6. Iowa +3500
7. Washington +5000
8. Maryland +5500
9. Nebraska +7500
10. Wisconsin +8000
11. UCLA +9000
12. Michigan St +13,000
12. Illinois +13,000…
The Bruins do return 10 starters on offense and also welcome in talented Notre Dame transfer Rico Flores. When adding the prowess of Bieniemy, the team should be able to score some points.
On the other hand, the defense lost a ton, including future first-round pick Laiatu Latu, the Murphy twins, Darius Muasau and Kamari Ramsey.
For Foster, achieving a season with a record above .500 would probably be a step in the right direction. The team has to build further depth through high school recruiting primarily.
While there's still some time to get transfers into the program during the summer session, this team might have to be quite potent offensively to hit the 'over' on the projected win total.
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