Gameday predictions: UCLA vs. Stanford
UCLA football prevailed over Stanford in last year’s matchup and can make it two wins in a row Saturday. (Jintak Han/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Jack Perez
Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 31, Stanford 17
This Bruin team, while inconsistent and prone to mistakes, should be too talented to lose this game.
Behind the likes of junior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, redshirt senior running back Demetric Felton, junior defensive back Stephan Blaylock and others, UCLA beats Stanford at almost every position.
Additionally, Stanford has used up all of its karma from being forced on to the road for the rest of the season in late November. Winning every time out by five points or fewer as the Cardinal have done in the last three games is unsustainable, so they will come in and finally be overwhelmed in their first loss in over a month.
However, for this matchup last season, I predicted Stanford to continue its winning streak over UCLA, so maybe putting too much faith in the Bruins will backfire this year. Predictions are not my calling, so while I can throw in some statistics and analysis from watching every UCLA game this year, my final score might be just as close as if I picked two random numbers from a hat.
An entertaining end to the season for both teams would be the ideal outcome for viewers and fans. Anything to give me a reason to call my dad after and talk about how the Bruins were able to pull off a 4-3 season in a year they almost did not play.
UCLA wins and finally puts this pandemic season to bed.
Sam Connon
Football beat reporter
Prediction: UCLA 37, Stanford 20
Well, this is it.
With UCLA opting out of a bowl, this will be my last time covering the team as a beat writer, Sports editor or anything else as part of the Daily Bruin. This will also be my final published prediction, and while I’m only 13-12 all-time and .500 on the season, I feel especially good about this one.
The Bruins snapped the Cardinal’s 11-game winning streak against them in a wire-to-wire road victory last year, posting a season-best defensive performance and playing efficient, near-mistake-free football. Expect the same this year, because this UCLA team is the best all-around Bruin squad since 2015.
True, they don’t have as much talent as the 2016 and 2017 teams nor do they have the fan-favorite veteran mainstays of 2018 or 2019 – such as Joshua Kelley, Adarius Pickett, Theo Howard or Josh Woods. But the Bruins are playing their most cohesive football they’ve ever played under coach Chip Kelly, and they’re just a handful of plays away from an actual undefeated season.
Give them the onside kick in Boulder, and UCLA beats Colorado. Take away the half-ending pick-six in Eugene, and UCLA beats Oregon. Erase the Trojans’ miraculous last-minute kick return and the ensuing highlight reel catch in double coverage, and UCLA beats USC.
That’s a lot of things that would have to go right, but still – the Bruins were very close to a great season. They’re on pace to finish without a two-score or more loss for the first time since 1998 and for the 14th time in program history.
Instead of appearing in the Rose Bowl like it did last time it achieved the feat, UCLA will have to settle for a regular old good season, and it’ll end it over .500 by stomping out Stanford to round out a wild 2020.
Maggie Tully
Slot editor
Prediction: UCLA 52, Stanford 35
The appeal of watching men wearing tights play a game that feels like it stops every 10 seconds and has an absurd number of rules has never made sense to me.
And honestly, if it weren’t for my job as a copy editor, I’d have absolutely no idea who Dorian Thompson-Robinson is.
Nevertheless, UCLA football has proved my pessimism wrong so far this season. I remember watching the first few minutes of the season opener against Colorado unfold and doubting that UCLA would win even a single game this season. But here we are five games later, and the team’s record has since surpassed .500 for the first time in coach Chip Kelly’s tenure.
Last week’s narrow loss to USC – in which UCLA led for most of the game – reinvigorated my faith in the Bruins and Thompson-Robinson, and despite that game ending in defeat, I’m confident the Bruins will bring home a win this week.
Last year when UCLA faced off against Stanford, the Bruins came out with a 34-16 win. While I have little stats knowledge to base my intuition on, I have just enough blind faith that the team can pull off the same result this year too.
