ESPN makes bold prediction on UCLA ahead of 2022 season

UCLA has an incredibly important year ahead of them. Chip Kelly has yet to prove himself in Los Angeles after revolutionizing the game while in Oregon. Meanwhile, as the Bruins look toward their future in the Big Ten, then they need to decide if the program is actually getting better or not.

It’s prediction season right before the regular season kicks off. So, ESPN writer Mark Schlabach decided to release several bold predictions ahead of the season. That includes one for UCLA.

He thinks UCLA is going to win their first five games of the season.

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“The Bruins are finally starting to show some improvement under coach Chip Kelly, whose second run in the Pac-12 hasn’t been nearly as good as his first at Oregon,” wrote Mark Schlabach.

“The Bruins are just 18-25 in his first four seasons, but they went 8-4 in 2021. UCLA will have offensive firepower with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and tailback Zach Charbonnet returning. The offensive line and receiver corps will have plenty of new faces, though. The Bruins will lose four of their final seven games and finish 8-4 for the second straight season.”

That would mean that UCLA is going to beat Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama, Colorado, and Washington before finally losing to Utah. All of which sounds reasonable and would equal a fast start that Chip Kelly needs.

On the other hand, Schlabach is also predicting that UCLA goes 8-4 overall and just 5-4 in conference. That means they’d be losing four of their last seven games. In its own right, that wouldn’t inspire confidence at all.