UCLA cancels non-conference series with Auburn, Georgia in favor of Utah, Cal

UCLA will reportedly drop Georgia and Auburn from future football schedules, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

With those two schools off the board, income Utah and Cal. UCLA already scheduled a home-and-home with the Utes for 2025 and ’30 earlier Wednesday.

UCLA will play Utah at the Rose Bowl in 2025 and will take on Cal in four future seasons, beginning in 2026, per the report.

UCLA and Cal will square off in 2026 and ’28 at Memorial Stadium and at the Rose Bowl in 2027 and ’29.

UCLA currently leads the all-time series against Utah 12-9, but the Utes have had more recent success.

Utah has won six of the last seven meetings in the series dating back to 2016, with the two teams meeting fairly regularly in the old Pac-12. UCLA’s lone win in that span came in 2022, a 42-32 win in Pasadena.

Of course, when the two teams meet in 2025 they’ll both be in new conferences. UCLA departed for the Big Ten in 2024, while Utah will be spending its first year in the Big 12 this fall.

Predicting UCLA’s win total ceiling, floor in 2024

On3’s Andy Staples recently predicted the ceiling and floor for UCLA, putting the Bruins at 6-6 or 3-7 on both side of the spectrum.

There’s no doubt a .500 season will be tough for the Bruins to achieve, but Staples believes that their new head coach could be laying a foundation for a positive future moving forward.

“Now I will say this about DeShaun Foster that does bode well for him going forward if he can make it through this year,” Staples said.

“They are really embracing high school recruiting, in a way that Chip Kelly obviously never did. It’s very similar to what Jim Mora was doing at UCLA and Jim Mora got dudes there, like it is possible to get dudes at UCLA and I think that’s DeShaun Foster ultimately.”