The 2018 UCLA Bruins football team represented the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in the

2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2018. The regular season began on August 25, 2018, and ended ...

. The Bruins were led by first-year head coach

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the UCLA Bruins. He came to prominence as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks from 2009 to 2012, whom he led to four consecutive BCS bowl game a ...

and played their home games at the Rose Bowl. UCLA was a member of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

in the South Division. They began the season 0–4 for the first time since

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, and 0–5 for the first time since

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

, before finally winning their first game, in dominating fashion, against

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

. However, despite failing to improve upon their previous season's output of six wins and seven losses and failing to qualify for a bowl game, the Bruins later defeated the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

to end a three-game losing streak in their crosstown rivalry. The Bruins finished 3–9 overall, their worst record since

. They went 3–6 in Pac-12 play, finishing fifth in the South Division, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined score of 409 to 295.

Previous season

The Bruins began the season at 2–0, where the first win was a historic 35-point comeback against

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

in front of 64,635 spectators at home on

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. At the conclusion of the second win, which was a 56–23 rout against

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in front of 50,444 individuals at home on the

Pac-12 Network The Pac-12 Network (P12N; also sometimes referred to as Pac-12 Networks) is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Pac-12 Conference. The network's studio and production facilities are headquart ...

, the Bruins were ranked No. 25 in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

. However, the Bruins would immediately be unranked after their loss at

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, and would have five more losses and four more wins at the conclusion of the regular season. As a result, Jim Mora was fired, a day after losing to

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

for the third straight year, for "not eetingexpectations" with the talent recruited. Nevertheless, the Bruins participated in the 2017 Cactus Bowl against

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, but they lost 17–35. The Bruins finished with an overall record 6–7, and 4–5 in

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

play.

NFL Draft Selections

The Bruins had five individuals selected in the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Pac-12 Media Days

The 2018 Pac-12 media day was July 25, 2018 in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. The Pac-12 media poll was released with the Bruins predicted to finish in fourth place at Pac-12 South division.

Recruiting

Position key

Recruits

The Bruins signed a total of 27 recruits.

Schedule

Sources:

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Game summaries

Cincinnati

Although favored by two touchdowns over the Bearcats, the

era at UCLA got off to a disappointing start with the loss vs. Cincinnati. Despite jumping out to an early 10–0 lead after one quarter of play, UCLA was slowed by the Bearcats for most of the remainder of the game. There was some brilliance rushing the ball by freshman running back Kazmeir Allen, who scored a 74-yard touchdown in the 3rd, but the pass game never seemed to click (with only 162 yards in the air and no touchdowns passing), several receivers dropped critical passes, and the offense struggled for the majority of the game. Additionally, starting quarterback

Wilton Speight Robert Wilton Speight III (born December 6, 1994) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and Michigan Wolverines. In high school he was a 2014 Under Armour All-America Game selection and subse ...

suffered a back injury in the 2nd quarter and had to be replaced with true freshman

Dorian Thompson-Robinson Dorian Trevor Thompson-Robinson (born November 14, 1999), also known by his initials DTR, is an American football quarterback for the UCLA Bruins. He has been a two-time second-team all-conference selection in the Pac-12 (2020, 2021). Early yea ...

. A fumble by Thompson-Robinson deep in UCLA's own territory in the 4th quarter led to a costly safety, which ultimately swung the game in favor of Cincy. Meanwhile, Cincinnati's offense, led by a freshman

Desmond Ridder Desmond Ridder (born August 31, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cincinnati, where he was twice-named AAC Offensive Player of the Year before be ...

at quarterback after starting signal-caller Hayden Moore went off with an early injury, had fewer total yards (304 against UCLA's 306) than the Bruins but dominated time of possession. The "nail in the coffin" for UCLA was perhaps a penalty for 12 men on the field against the Bruin defense, which came on 4th down during a critical goal line stand; this allowed Cincinnati to eventually score a touchdown rather than kick a field goal. In all, the UCLA team was too inconsistent on the day and made too many crucial blunders to get the win against a talented Bearcats team that, though initially projected at the beginning of the year to be rather weak, would actually go on to win 10 games. After the game, Coach Kelly said in an interview that he intended to remain positive despite the loss.

at Oklahoma

Fresno State

at Colorado

Yet another disappointing Bruins loss led to UCLA equaling their worst start (0-4) since

, despite signs of improvement in the 1st half. Another lackluster performance by starting quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson led to many calling for the true freshman to be benched by Coach Kelly.

Washington

UCLA came close to upsetting the #10-ranked Huskies, but ultimately fell short as they started a season winless through 5 games for the first time since

at California

Giving reason for optimism to both players and fans alike, the Bruins finally earned their first victory of the season by manhandling Cal on the road, 37–7. Digging in, UCLA's defense was stout, forcing 5 turnovers (on 2 interceptions of Cal quarterback Brandon McIlwain and 3 fumble recoveries, including one that was run back for a touchdown by Keisean Lucier-South) while not surrendering any turnovers on offense themselves. Bruin running back

Joshua Kelley Joshua Tyler Kelley (born November 20, 1997) is an American football running back for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career with the UC Davis Aggies before transferring to the UCLA ...

also had a tremendous game, continuing his hot streak by scoring 3 touchdowns while rushing for an impressive 157 yards on 30 carries. A Bruin victory at

California Memorial Stadium California Memorial Stadium also known simply and commonly as Memorial Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California. It is ...

also marked UCLA's first true road win in over two years, dating back to their 17–14 triumph over

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Arizona

Utah

at Oregon

at Arizona State

USC

ran for 289 yards and 2 TDs, leading the Bruins to a 34-27 victory. His 289 yards comprised the 3rd-highest single-game tally in UCLA history, and the most rushing yards by a Bruin in a game against their crosstown rival USC. After a back-and-forth game, Kelley scored a 55-yard touchdown with 10:39 remaining in the 4th quarter to give UCLA the lead, which they were able to maintain. With the win, UCLA were able to finally reclaim the rights to the coveted Victory Bell for the first time in four years.

Stanford

The Bruins had possession of the ball twice in the final minutes of the game, but failed to go ahead or even the score on both drives in a 49–42 defeat to

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. Cardinal quarterback

K. J. Costello Kevin Richard "K. J." Costello (born June 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Stanford and the Mississippi State. He previously played for the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Sain ...

threw a career-high five touchdowns, including three to receiver J. J. Arcega-Whiteside. UCLA had scored 15 unanswered points to briefly take the lead in the fourth quarter but ultimately suffered their 11th straight loss to the Cardinal. Speight threw for a career-high 466 yards in his final collegiate game, and despite the loss, the Bruins accumulated a season-high 528 yards of total offense. Tight end

Caleb Wilson Caleb Brandon Wilson (born July 15, 1996) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at UCLA and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the final pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, making him that draft's Mr. ...

added 184 yards receiving. The Rose Bowl attendance of 38,391 was the Bruins' smallest home crowd since

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. UCLA finished the season with a 3–9 record, their worst since going 2–7–1 in

Honors

Pac-12

Players drafted into the NFL

Notes

* August 30, 2018 –

named starting quarterback for the Bruins for the season opener vs.

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. * September 21, 2018 – Sophomore QB Devon Modster announces his intentions to transfer from UCLA. * October 15, 2018 – Keisean Lucier-South named Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week. * November 19, 2018 –

named Pac-12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

References

{{UCLA Bruins football navbox

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

UCLA Bruins football seasons

UCLA Bruins football The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles, in college football as members of the Pac-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Bruins play their home games at the ...