UCLA falls from No. 18 to unranked in Associated Press poll

For the first time this season, UCLA is no longer ranked.

The Bruins entered Stanford this past Thursday at No. 18 in the Associated Press poll. A 56-35 loss to the Cardinal dropped them out of the top 25, leaving just three teams in the Pac-12 ranked. The Cardinal jumped five spots to No. 10, while Utah — whom UCLA visits on Nov. 21 — moved up to No. 3.

No. 20 Cal travels down to the Rose Bowl to play the Bruins on Thursday at 6 p.m.

UCLA also fell from 18th to unranked last October, following back-to-back losses to the Utes and Oregon. It moved back to 25th the following week after beating the Bears. The Bruins eventually ended the 2014 season at No. 10.

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UCLA’s win over Arizona moves Bruins up to No. 7 in AP poll

UCLA is now ranked as high as it’s ever been before under Jim Mora.

The Bruins’ 56-30 win at Arizona on Saturday night bumped them up two spots to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll — matching the ranking they took into the 2014 season. Don’t count on Mora caring much.

“I don’t think it matters to us what people think of us,” he said Saturday. “I think the external expectations, they’re for you guys to talk about.

“We talk about our own expectations. We have our own standard, and that’s what we try to play to — regardless of who we’re playing, where we’re playing, what the circumstances are, and what people outside are saying.”

See the full AP poll below: Continue reading “UCLA’s win over Arizona moves Bruins up to No. 7 in AP poll” »

UCLA is the top-ranked Pac-12 team for the first time since 2001

After beating BYU, UCLA is the top-ranked Pac-12 team in the AP poll for the first time in 14 years. (Keith Birmingham/Staff)

After beating BYU, UCLA is the top-ranked Pac-12 team in the AP poll for the first time in 14 years. (Keith Birmingham/Staff)

Now No. 9 in the country, UCLA is the top-ranked team in the Pac-12 for the first time in 14 years.

The last time the Bruins paced the conference was Oct. 21, 2001, when they were ranked fourth and received a first-place vote. However, they then lost four straight games and finished the season unranked with seven wins.

It’s difficult to imagine this UCLA team heading for that type of collapse. Its 24-23 win over BYU on Saturday night showed the team’s resilience, holding on for a victory despite numerous mistakes and personnel losses.

Next up for the Bruins is another top-20 matchup. They travel to No. 16 Arizona this Saturday for a 5 p.m. kickoff on ABC.

See the full AP poll below. Continue reading “UCLA is the top-ranked Pac-12 team for the first time since 2001” »

UCLA moves up to No. 10 in Associated Press poll

After a comfortable win at UNLV, UCLA has moved up to No. 10 in the Associated Press poll.

The Bruins finished last season at the same spot, and returned there on Sunday following a 37-3 rout of the Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium. The win bumped them up three spots, but action elsewhere in college football didn’t hurt either. Virginia, whom UCLA beat by 18 points in its season opener, were on track to upset No. 8 Notre Dame until giving up a 39-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left.

Oregon’s loss at Michigan State also dropped the Ducks from No. 7 to No. 12. That left UCLA as the second-highest ranked Pac-12 team, behind No. 6 USC.

Arizona moved up two spots to 20th after holding off Nevada in a 44-20 win, while Utah followed right behind at No. 21.

UCLA stays at No. 13 in Associated Press poll

UCLA was ranked No. 13 in the latest Associated Press poll on Tuesday, one of many teams who stayed at their preseason position after Week 1.

Oregon and USC also remained at seventh and eighth in the rankings, while Arizona held at No. 22. Arizona State and Stanford both dropped out of the top 25 to “receiving votes” after their losses to Texas A&M and Northwestern, respectively.

Utah moved up to No. 24 after its 24-17 win over Michigan.

The full AP poll: Continue reading “UCLA stays at No. 13 in Associated Press poll” »