UCLA football 2015 season preview: BYU Cougars

UCLA Bruins vs. BYU Cougars
Saturday, Sept. 19 | Rose Bowl
7:30 p.m. PT, FOX Sports 1

The skinny: By the time BYU leaves Pasadena, it could conceivably be 3-0 … or 0-3.

Such is the state of the Cougars’ program, which has consistently skipped along at good-but-not-great for the past several years. If Steve Sarkisan got stuck with “Seven-Win Sark” at Washington, the only thing saving Bronco Mendenhall from a similar fate may be alliterative absence.

BYU has gone 8-5 in each of the past three seasons, and is coming off postseason losses in the Fight Hunger and Miami Beach Bowls. (The latter even ended with a fight!) Mendenhall turned the Cougars into a top-25 team in just his second season as head coach, but that era lasted only four years. BYU soon exited the Mountain West in the midst of conference realignment, and has been clinging to upper middle class ever since.

What does independence mean for a team with lofty goals? A very interesting schedule. BYU needs to play other big names to keep its own reputation afloat, which means this year’s slate starts with a game at Nebraska, a home game against Boise State, and then back-to-back trips to UCLA and Michigan. Continue reading “UCLA football 2015 season preview: BYU Cougars” »

UCLA football 2015 season preview: UNLV Rebels

UCLA Bruins at UNLV Rebels
Saturday, Sept. 12 | Sam Boyd Stadium
7:30 p.m. PT, CBS Sports Network

The skinny: The optimist might say that UNLV made one of the offseason’s most daring moves. The cynic might say that the Rebels are throwing anything against the wall to see if it sticks.

High school experience can be an invaluable foundation to a coaching career. Baylor’s Art Briles bounced around Texas high schools for two decades before his first college job. Auburn’s Gus Malzahn did the same in Arkansas for almost 15 years. Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze was once best known for being Michael Oher’s coach at Briarcrest Christian in Memphis.

But none of them jumped directly from preps to become the head coach of an FBS program. On that path, UNLV’s Tony Sanchez is preceded by just three others: Todd Dodge (North Texas), Gerry Faust (Notre Dame), and Bob Commings (Iowa). That trio combined for a 54-100-1 record at those respective schools. Dodge, who was with the Mean Green from 2007-10, is the only one who was still coaching by the time most of today’s college players were born.

Still, Sanchez has an advantage that those three other men didn’t: He is extraordinarily well connected, particularly with a moneyed crowd that poured resources into making Bishop Gorman a powerhouse prep program. Continue reading “UCLA football 2015 season preview: UNLV Rebels” »

UCLA football 2015 season preview: Virginia Cavaliers

By now, most of you are probably jonesing for the start of college football season. Fret not — it’s the perfect time to start looking at each of UCLA’s upcoming opponents. Let’s start with the Virginia.

UCLA Bruins vs. Virginia Cavaliers
Saturday, Sept. 5 | Rose Bowl
12:30 p.m. PT, FOX

The skinny: Virginia is not known for a deep, proud football tradition. While the program has been closer to mediocre than truly bad over the last decade, this remains a team that has not won a bowl game since 2005, and one that has not won its conference since 1995.

Can Mike London, a perennial coaching hot-seater, finally notch his second winning season in Charlottesville? The 54-year-old has some very interesting bullet points on his resume, but his recent coaching career hasn’t offered him much to brag about.

London peaked early, debuting as Richmond’s head coach in 2008 by winning 13 games and the FCS Championship. He put the Spiders back in the quarterfinals the following year, after which Virginia poached him to replace Al Groh. He won four games, then broke through in 2011 with eight wins and an appearance in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. He won ACC Coach of the Year, and earned a five-year extension.

The Cavaliers haven’t fared well since, slipping back to four, two, and five wins in the last three seasons. Continue reading “UCLA football 2015 season preview: Virginia Cavaliers” »