Friday, March 29, 2024

AdvertiseDonateSubmit
NewsSportsArtsOpinionThe QuadPhotoVideoIllustrationsCartoonsGraphicsThe StackPRIMEEnterpriseInteractivesPodcastsBruinwalkClassifieds

Gameday predictions: UCLA vs. Bowling Green

Senior running back Zach Charbonnet (left), sophomore defensive back Devin Kirkwood (right) and UCLA football are set to take on Bowling Green on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. After going 8-4 in 2021, the Bruins will open their season against a Falcons team that posted a 4-8 overall record and 2-6 conference record competing in the Mid-American Conference a season ago. (Maya O’Kelly/Design director, photos (left to right): Christine Kao/Daily Bruin staff, Sakshi Joglekar/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By Sam Settleman, Joseph Crosby, Jon Christon, and Kaiya Pomeroy-Tso

Aug. 29, 2022 10:41 a.m.

Sam Settleman
Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 52, Bowling Green 7

Vegas has the Bruins by about 25 in this one.

I’d be shocked if UCLA doesn’t blow that out of the water Saturday.

The Bruins will be going up against a team that looked subpar in a subpar conference a season ago. The Falcons mustered just a 2-6 record in the Mid-American Conference in 2021, and a 4-8 record overall, with their eight losses coming by an average of 19.4 points.

Despite having a veteran quarterback at the helm, Bowling Green ranked 117th out of 130 teams in total offense last season with just 316.8 yards per game. The Falcons were even worse on the ground, where they barely eclipsed 100 rushing yards per contest.

Bowling Green isn’t much better on the defensive side of the ball, where it allowed over 30 points per game.

Put simply, this Falcons team should be a warm up for the Bruins.

On the other side, UCLA wants to show right out of the gate that this year’s team can be a top-25 squad like it was early last season.

In its 2021 season opener, UCLA demolished Hawai’i, putting up 44 points in three quarters before sitting the starters and emptying the bench. The way this matchup looks on paper, Saturday should be no different.

Just like they did to the Rainbow Warriors, the Bruins will run the ball down the throat of a Falcons defense that gave up nearly 200 yards per game and 30 touchdowns on the ground last year.

Senior running back Zach Charbonnet will have a tough time replicating his 106-yard, three-touchdown showing on six carries that he managed in his first game with UCLA. Nonetheless, expect big numbers out of the Bruins’ No. 1 back.

UCLA might prove a lot of people wrong this year – and first on that list is Vegas.

Joseph Crosby
Assistant Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 34, Bowling Green 16

The 2022 campaign may be make or break on the whole, but the Bruins’ season opener is a time for coach Chip Kelly to hit the testing grounds.

Making its first trip to the West Coast since 2018, Bowling Green should serve as an opportunity for experimentation for UCLA. After an offseason of change, the Bruins certainly need time to settle in, and the Falcons – who haven’t had a winning season since 2015 – should give them that chance.

The presence of redshirt senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Charbonnet will give the offense enough stability to show up and do its job. Four touchdowns and a pair of field goals shouldn’t be too much to ask from a Kelly-led offense with two strong veterans in the backfield.

But this game could give Kelly a chance to switch out his visor for a Doc Brown-esque frizz and play mad scientist for a bit. UCLA’s receiving corps and offensive line have undergone significant turnover since 2021, and both Kelly and Thompson-Robinson will need time to adjust to the new offensive look.

The playbook may not be different, but the personnel has certainly changed, and giving chances to a wide variety of players in a relatively low-stakes matchup will go a long way towards finding the best packages when the blue and gold heads to Boulder for its first conference matchup in late September.

Defensively, it’s the same story for UCLA. With a revamped look under new defensive coordinator Bill McGovern, the Bruins need time to find their footing. They won’t be perfect in their first outing under new leadership, but with Bowling Green ranking 109th in scoring offense in 2021, UCLA should be able to keep its opponent under 20 points with ease.

The Bruins probably won’t hit 88 on the scoreboard, but starting the season with a win for the second straight year seems like a safe bet.

Jon Christon
Daily Bruin senior staff
Prediction: UCLA 58, Bowling Green 24

As my colleague pointed out above, this will be the first time Bowling Green plays a Pac-12 team since 2018.

I remember the Falcons’ last West Coast excursion quite well. In fact, I had a front-row seat – kind of.

Sitting in nearly the last row of Autzen Stadium, I was on hand as Oregon absolutely demolished its Ohio-based visitors 58-24. I remember now-NFL superstar Justin Herbert torching Bowling Green for 281 yards and five touchdowns on just 10 completions. I remember being surrounded by a yellow sea of deliriously happy – if not slightly tipsy – Ducks fans. Above all else, I remember the good vibes ascending on a crisp late-summer day on the West Coast.

Though I won’t be in attendance this time around, I think we’ll see similar good vibes for the Bruin faithful Saturday.

And if the vibes are the same, why can’t the final score be too?

While 58 points may seem daunting at first blush, UCLA’s potent offense is certainly capable of matching Oregon’s 2018 performance. The Bruins led the Pac-12 in scoring in 2021 and turned it up a notch in big games. The blue and gold opened last season by scoring 44 against Hawai’i in three quarters before hanging 62 on crosstown rival USC in the biggest matchup of the campaign.

While Thompson-Robinson may not be Herbert, he certainly has the big-play ability to gash the Falcons’ defense on limited passing attempts.

Finally, this team is extra motivated after last season’s premature ending. The Bruins were playing their best football before the Holiday Bowl was canceled, averaging nearly 50 points per game in their final three contests. UCLA – with a whole offseason to stew on the abrupt finish to the 2021 season – now has the perfect cupcake opponent to let out the frustration of a lost postseason.

Everything will come together for the Bruins to open the 2022 season, as they will win only their second season opener under Kelly in dominant fashion.

But, more important than any end result, the vibes will be immaculate on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Pasadena.

Kaiya Pomeroy-Tso
Daily Bruin senior staff
Prediction: UCLA 45, Bowling Green 10

After a tumultuous few years, it’s time for the Bruins to start off the season with a picture-perfect opener.

Or at least a photogenic one.

I’ve been watching and editing stories about UCLA football’s highs and lows from the student section, my couch and even the Rose Bowl press box since 2019. But this year, I get to round out my Bruin football coverage career on the sidelines with a camera lens longer than my arm. So, it’s pretty important to me that UCLA launches into the season with some aesthetically pleasing acrobatics, preferably right in front of my camera.

Based on last year’s thrashing of USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, this team is clearly capable of photogenic theatrics. Hopefully, I’ll be able to capture a moment like redshirt junior wide receiver Kazmeir Allen’s breakout performance in that game. With many of last year’s top targets off the roster, the field is open for a fresh face to make some big plays.

Of course, the topic on every fan’s mind is the notoriously inconsistent performance of redshirt senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Bruins’ perennial starter recently graced the cover of an ESPN story – one that listed the biggest underachievers in college football.

That blowout win over USC started with Thompson-Robinson throwing two interceptions in a row and ended with his iconic hurdle over a Trojan defender. I’m hoping his performance against Bowling Green will look more like the end of that game than the beginning. Thompson-Robinson needs to show he can be consistent this season, otherwise, as one of my favorite Daily Bruin Sports alums has said, “This dude, unfortunately, will not be drafted.”

I’ve watched too much UCLA football to assume everything will go according to plan Saturday. But I hope the Bruins will still craft some fun, photo-worthy plays to make the hot Pasadena sun worthwhile for us all.

Share this story:FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Sam Settleman | Sports editor
Settleman was the 2022-2023 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and gymnastics beats. He was previously an assistant editor on the gymnastics, women's soccer, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the gymnastics and women's water polo beats.
Settleman was the 2022-2023 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and gymnastics beats. He was previously an assistant editor on the gymnastics, women's soccer, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the gymnastics and women's water polo beats.
Joseph Crosby | Sports editor
Crosby is the 2023-2024 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and NIL beats. He was previously an assistant Sports editor on the baseball, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the baseball and women's golf beats. He is also a fourth-year statistics student.
Crosby is the 2023-2024 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and NIL beats. He was previously an assistant Sports editor on the baseball, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the baseball and women's golf beats. He is also a fourth-year statistics student.
Jon Christon | Sports senior staff
Christon is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously the Sports editor on the men's basketball and football beats and the assistant Sports editor on the women's basketball, softball, men's tennis and women's tennis beats. Christon was previously a contributor on the women's basketball and softball beats.
Christon is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously the Sports editor on the men's basketball and football beats and the assistant Sports editor on the women's basketball, softball, men's tennis and women's tennis beats. Christon was previously a contributor on the women's basketball and softball beats.
Kaiya Pomeroy-Tso | Alumni director
Pomeroy-Tso is the 2022-2023 alumni director. She was a 2021-2022 Copy chief and a 2020-2021 slot editor. She is now Copy senior staff and has also contributed to Sports, Photo and The Quad. She is a fourth-year communication and human biology and society student.
Pomeroy-Tso is the 2022-2023 alumni director. She was a 2021-2022 Copy chief and a 2020-2021 slot editor. She is now Copy senior staff and has also contributed to Sports, Photo and The Quad. She is a fourth-year communication and human biology and society student.
COMMENTS
Featured Classifieds
More classifieds »
Related Posts