2023 UCLA Football Predictions and Season Preview

UCLA football finished the 2022 season with a strong 9-4 record. UCLA’s losses came against Oregon, Arizona, USC and Pittsburgh in the bowl game. Only the Oregon loss was by more than 10 points. Losses aside, UCLA defeated Washington and Utah, giving them a pair of impressive victories.

DraftKings Sportsbook has set the price on UCLA’s win total at 8.5, with the over juiced to -115. The Bruins are +1400 to win the Pac-12, which comes in only behind USC, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Oregon State. With another strong season expected from bookmakers, let’s dive into UCLA’s season preview.

2023 UCLA Football Predictions & Season Preview

UCLA Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff

UCLA retains the services of Chip Kelly for his sixth season as head coach. Kelly has a 27-29 record with UCLA, but he has done a solid job turning the program around. After three straight losing season under Kelly, UCLA has turned in back-to-back seasons with at least eight wins. This year, Kelly hired Brennan Marion as his new offensive coordinator. Marion coached receivers for Texas last year. Kelly controls much of the offense, so we should not expect too many changes. On defense, UCLA retains Bill McGovern, who took over the defensive coordinator role in 2022. He previously coached linebackers for the Chicago Bears in 2021. Ultimately, the staff continuity should be a positive for UCLA this season.

UCLA Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense

Quarterback

UCLA might have the biggest shoes to fill in the entire Pac-12 at quarterback with the departure of Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The team will turn to some combination of freshman Dante Moore and Kent State transfer Collin Schlee. Moore enters the program as a 5-star freshman and the fifth-ranked player in the entire country. Moore is 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, giving him solid size to work with. Recruiting services peg him as a pro-style quarterback or pocket-passer, leaving some questions regarding his mobility. Moore will start early in his career, but having Schlee as a contingency option helps UCLA. Schlee is 6-foot-3, 218 pounds, and completed 157 of 266 passes (59%) for 2,109 yards (7.9 yards per attempt), 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Schlee also possesses strong mobility, registering 489 yards on 98 carries, despite taking 18 sacks. PFF graded Schlee as the second overall quarterback in the MAC last year. While UCLA should be set up for the future with Moore on the roster, it could take the freshman a little while to get up to speed.

Running Back

UCLA also lost a pure stud in Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet rushed 195 times for 1,359 yards, while catching 37 passes for another 321 yards. Among the incumbents, UCLA returns T.J. Harden and Keegan Jones. Harden is 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, and rushed 44 times for 326 yards in six games last year. He only caught four passes, but he averaged an efficient 3.80 yards after contact with a forced missed tackle on 43% of his attempts. Jones is 5-foot-9, 175 pounds, and rushed 73 times for 321 yards. Jones operated more as a pass catching back, reeling in 21 passes for another 237 yards. As a rusher, he averaged 2.25 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 22% of his attempts. Despite returning both rotational backs, UCLA clearly wanted to bring in extra help to this group. The Bruins added Ball State transfer Carson Steele and Army transfer Anthony Adkin. Steele is 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, and rushed 289 times for 1,528 yards and 14 touchdowns with Ball State last year. He also caught 29 passes for 166 yards without a drop. He averaged an impressive 4.02 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 33.2% of his attempts. While putting up these numbers in the MAC is impressive, he will now try to make the jump to the Pac-12. Adkins is 6-foot-1, 255 pounds, and rushed 75 times for 353 yards in 2021 with Army. His potential role remains to be seen. Losing Charbonnet will be tough, but UCLA’s run game should remain decent.

Wide Receiver

The Bruins lost their top two receivers in Jake Bobo and Kazmeir Allen. To address the position, UCLA added J. Michael Sturdivant from Cal and Kyle Ford from USC. Sturdivant is 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, and caught 65 passes for 755 yards and seven touchdowns last year. He played out wide 65.8% of the time and his 1.74 yards per route ranked 31st in the Pac-12. Ford is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, and caught 20 passes for 365 yards last year. He played out wide 90.7% of the time and his 1.86 yards per route ranked 23rd in the Pac-12. As for incumbents, the Bruins returned their third- and fifth-leading receivers Kam Brown and Titus Mokiao-Atimalala. Brown is 6-foot-0, 190 pounds, and originally began his career with Texas A&M. Last year, he caught 24 passes for 362 yards and three touchdowns. He played out wide 82.1% of the time and his 1.23 yards per route ranked 49th. Mokiao-Atimalala is 6-foot-1, 184 pounds, and caught 17 passes for 290 yards. He also played out wide 79.7% of the time. Even Logan Loya returns after 18 catches for 278 yards. He is 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, and played in the slot 78.1% of the time. UCLA did recruit a pair of 4-star freshmen in Jeremiah McClure and Grant Gary, making it possible that one of the veterans falls down the depth chart.

Tight End

The Bruins lost Michael Ezeike, but they return Hudson Habermehl. Habermehl played 386 snaps in a rotation with Ezeike last year. At 6-foot-6, 252 pounds, Habermehl caught 15 passes for 167 yards. He blocked on 54% of his snaps last year. To ease the loss of Ezeike, UCLA added Oregon transfer Moliki Matavao. Matavao is 6-foot-6, 256 pounds, and played 335 snaps last year. He blocked on 63% of these snaps, but he still caught 10 passes for 134 yards. From there, UCLA returns Carsen Ryan, who also played 103 snaps in five games last year. He functions more as an h-back, giving the offense versatility. Tight end is not always a big part of Kelly’s offense, but this group should be solid enough.

Offensive Line

UCLA’s offensive line lost right guard Jon Gaines II, left guard Antonio Mafi and left tackle Raiqwon O’Neal. Gaines and Mafi both heard their names called on draft night and left big shoes to fill. This leaves just two returning starters for UCLA. Center Duke Clemens returns after playing 825 snaps last year. He has four years of starting experience and 2,273 snaps in his career. Garrett DiGiorgio also returns at right tackle after playing 867 snaps last year. This will be his second year starting and UCLA will need him to step up in a major way. At right guard, the oft-injured Siale Taupaki could be an option. Only playing 80 snaps since the start of 2020, Taupaki actually played 77 snaps in the first two games last year, before missing the rest of the season. He has received plenty of hype when healthy and could slide right in here. Everything rides on health for Taupaki. At left guard, UCLA landed Purdue transfer Spencer Holstege. Holstege played 862 snaps last year and now has three seasons of starting experience. At left tackle, UCLA added Khadere Kounta from Old Dominion. He played 751 snaps last year and now has 1,673 snaps of experience in his three collegiate seasons. Kounta has not always performed well, making the jump in competition a major question for him here. UCLA also added Colorado transfer Jake Wiley for depth after Deion Sanders ran him out of Boulder. Wiley has two years of starting experience, but he spent most of that playing poorly. The rest of UCLA’s two-deep has very little experience. Given the pieces it lost, it is hard to envision UCLA’s offensive line performing at the same level this year.

UCLA Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense

UCLA ranked 54th on defense in 2022. This included the 85th-ranked run defense, 27th-ranked pass rush and 43rd-ranked secondary. The defense now loses three starters in the secondary, but it returns most of that formidable edge rushing group. The Bruins also brought in four defensive transfers in hopes of taking the defense to the next level.

Defensive Line

On the edge, UCLA returns an elite group, consisting of Laiatu Latu, Grayson Murphy and Gabriel Murphy. Latu played 494 snaps last year and absolutely dominated on them. He led the team with 10.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. From there, Grayson played 493 snaps. He ranked second in most major pass rushing categories with five sacks and nine tackles for loss. Gabriel also played well with 1.5 sacks and four tackles for loss on 467 snaps. His 38 tackles led the edge rushing group. From there, the team even returns Carl Jones Jr., who rotated in for 378 snaps off the edge. Even Penn transfer Jake Heimlicher joins the program. Heimlicher is 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, and plays a hybrid linebacker/edge rusher position. Needless to say, this position group is loaded.

On the interior, the Bruins lost Jacob Sykes, but they return some production from Jay Toia and Gary Smith III. Toia played 370 snaps last year, logging 30 tackles. At 325 pounds, he simply needs to stack up better against the run this year. Smith missed a few games last year, but he played well on his 240 snaps. At 320 pounds, he logged 18 tackles and held up much better against the run. UCLA also added Oregon transfer Keanu Williams at defensive tackle. He only played 114 snaps last year, but he is a former 4-star prospect. If Smith can get on the field for more snaps, this group has a chance to take a step forward.

Linebacker

At linebacker, the Bruins return their top two options in Darius Muasau and JonJon Vaughns. Muasau played 877 snaps last year and led the team with 91 tackles. He struggled at times against the pass, but still ended up with three pass breakups and two interceptions. Vaughns played 499 snaps and logged 53 tackles. He performed a little better in the pass game, defending five passes and finding two interceptions. The team also returns rotational linebacker Kain Medrano, who played 298 snaps last year. Medrano played well on his limited snaps with 38 tackles. With another year of experience, this group should take a slight step forward.

Defensive Back

At corner, the Bruins lost their nickel in Azizi Hearn. However, they return three players with starting experience in John Humphrey, Devin Kirkwood and Jaylin Davies. Humphrey played the most snaps of this bunch at 675. He recorded 39 tackles and broke up just one pass last year. Humphrey proved decent in coverage with 403 yards allowed, but a step forward would go a long way for UCLA. Kirkwood played just 468 snaps, but he broke up four passes, while recording 27 tackles. While he did not play as much, he came in with the superior coverage numbers. Davies played 463 snaps and broke up three passes. He also led the team with three interceptions. It would not be surprising to see him play the nickel or force one of the other corners into the slot. The player with the most returning slot experience in Kenny Churchwell III. Churchwell only played 290 snaps, but he broke up one pass and logged 47 tackles on his limited snaps. He could also start for UCLA this year.

At safety, UCLA lost both Mo Osling and Stephan Blaylock. Kamari Ramsey could take on one of these positions, but he only played 39 snaps in three games as a freshman last year. Ramsey originally joined the program in 2022 as a 4-star recruit, so the pedigree is there for larger role this year. The other safety position could be held by Bowling Green transfer Jordan Anderson. Anderson has 2,408 snaps in his career and played in and out of the slot with Bowling Green. Another option could be William Nimmo Jr., who logged 140 snaps last year. The secondary replaces a decent amount of production, but it appears UCLA has the players to potentially replace these departures.

2023 UCLA Football Schedule & Predictions

UCLA Football 2023 Schedule

The Bruins play a difficult non-conference schedule consisting of Coastal Carolina, San Diego State and North Carolina Central. They should be able to rattle off three wins here. In conference play, they draw Utah, Oregon State and USC from the top half of the conference. With that said, they dodge Oregon and Washington, giving them one of the easier schedules in this conference.

UCLA Football Futures Bet & Prediction

The Bruins over/under 8.5 wins comes in juiced to the over at -115. Ultimately, an easy non-conference should benefit the Bruins as they break in a new quarterback and multiple skill position starters. They should be favored in nine games and slight underdogs in their other three. With that said, they still replace a ton of production. If any of the middling Pac-12 teams like Arizona or Arizona State improve, UCLA could struggle to eclipse this win total. With -105 odds coming in on the under, that looks like the sharper side of this win total.

Best UCLA Football Futures Bet: Under 8.5 Wins (-105 at DraftKings)

You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!

• Alabama Season Preview & Predictions
• Arkansas Season Preview & Predictions
• Auburn Season Preview & Predictions
• Baylor Season Preview & Predictions
• Florida Season Preview & Predictions
• Georgia Season Preview & Predictions
• Iowa Season Preview & Predictions
• Iowa State Season Preview & Predictions
• Kansas Season Preview & Predictions
• Kansas State Season Preview & Predictions
• Kentucky Season Preview & Predictions
• LSU Season Preview & Predictions
• Michigan Season Preview & Predictions
• Mississippi State Season Preview & Predictions
• Missouri Season Preview & Predictions
• Oklahoma Season Preview & Predictions
• Oklahoma State Season Preview & Predictions
• Ole Miss Season Preview & Predictions
• South Carolina Season Preview & Predictions
• TCU Season Preview & Predictions
• Tennessee Season Preview & Predictions
• Texas Season Preview & Predictions
• Texas A&M Season Preview & Predictions
• Texas Tech Season Preview & Predictions
• Vanderbilt Season Preview & Predictions
• West Virginia Season Preview & Predictions