The UCLA Bruins are entering their 100th season as a program as the 2019 season inches closer. They will need to make some huge improvements from their abysmal 2018 campaign finishing the regular season with a 3-9 record. The 2018 season was the first under Chip Kelly’s tenure at the helm who had a lot of success with Oregon in the past and had mild success coaching the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL. However, you can’t expect Kelly to come in and expect them to play like the Oregon team he coached nearly ten years ago.
Last year UCLA got off to a horrendous 0-4 start doing so for the first time since the 1970’s and then started out 0-5 for the first time since 1943. 2018 was the Bruins worst season since 1971 amassing a 3-6 record in the PAC conference while finishing fifth in the PAC.
Mini Recap of 2018
In 2018 Wilton Speight quarterbacked the Bruins for seven games throwing for over 1,500 passing yards and racking up six touchdowns and six interceptions. The Bruins also finished ninth in total offense accumulating a total of 4,711 yards. The Bruins really struggled to find a groove on offense when they entered the red zone, UCLA scored a touchdown on 22-37 attempts which stood 10th in the PAC according to pac12.com
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bruins were also mediocre as they ranked 102nd in the nation according to NCAA.com. They allowed their opponents to average six yards a play and allowed an average of 445 yards per game.
UCLA Bruins National Ranking: 42
With some weapons from last season returning, giving them some hope to get back into a bowl game this year. If they hope to pile together a six or seven win season, they will need these players to be in sync and play collectively as a unit.
2019 Outlook
UCLA has a hopeful player returning to quarterback the offense in Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He was widely considered to be a savior for the Bruins and get them back to the top of the conference, but was thrown into the mix too early to fill in for Wilton Speight. Robinson however, did suffer an injury himself and limited his production as he ended the year with seven touchdowns and threw four interceptions.
Theo Howard, a receiver, who will be entering his senior year looks to be one of the top players to help the Bruin offense put up some points on the scoreboard. Howard racked up 667 yards which was second on the team behind tight end Caleb Wilson.
Entering his redshirt senior season and who will be the number one running back for the Bruins is Joshua Kelley. Last season, Kelley led the Bruins in rushing yards with 1,243 while crossing the goal line six times. He will look to continue his dominant play going into 2019 to help his team to a better finish and raise his draft stock.
On defense the Bruins have some players returning that could maybe help them move up in the ranks from last year’s finish at 102.
Krys Barnes a linebacker entering his senior year had the second most total tackles with 85 behind former teammate and Chargers rookie Adarius Pickett.
Linebacker Tyree Thompson is entering his senior season and will be another important piece to the Bruin defense. In 2018, Thompson recorded a total of 55 tackles, 32 of them solo and 23 of them assisted.
UCLA Bruins Notable Games
9/14: VS #4 Oklahoma 8 p.m.
9/21: @ #23 Washington St. TBD
10/17: @ #25 Stanford 9 p.m.
11/16: @ #14 Utah TBD