College Football
Previews - NCAA Football Handicapping - Preview 2006 Betting
UCLA Bruins
2006 Preview
Online
Predictions By:
Matt Fargo UCLA Bruins Football Preview
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ONE handicapper in 2005 at the Professional Handicappers
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Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be
here before you know it so that means getting
an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season.
Knowing the teams now will save you time in August
and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp
of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from
worst to first in this 2006 College Football Preview.
Fargo’s Take
- Dreams of a possible National Championship
after an 8-0 start were burst when the Bruins
were hammered at Arizona last season. Getting
shellacked at USC in the regular season finale
put an end to a possible berth in a major bowl
but UCLA did recover with a win against Northwestern
in the Sun Bowl. Now the Bruins must replace the
three biggest playmakers on offense, quarterback
Drew Olson, running back Maurice Drew and tight
end Marcedes Lewis, as well as go about trying
to fix one of the worst defenses in the country.
UCLA finished 113th in total defense, 116th in
rushing defense and 108th in scoring defense so
being able to win 10 games showed how important
the offense was. There are numerous players who
will be asked to step in and contribute right
away and while there is no chance the Bruins can
match their win total from 2005, another bowl
game is very likely.
Returning Starters
on Offense – 4 Olson had a spectacular
season with 34 touchdowns and six interceptions
while throwing for close to 3,200 yards. Another
Olson, Ben, will be taking over as the new signal
caller and if his season is anything like his
potential, he could have a very good year. He
has the availability of two returning starters
at receiver and the top three pass catching wideouts
are all back. Replacing Lewis is impossible and
that will be a huge part of the offense that will
be missed. The running game should be solid as
Chris Markey, who rushed for 561 yards on 5.1
ypc behind Drew, has slashing ability and could
be a 1,000-yard rusher. He will benefit from three
starters coming back on an offensive line that
is not only big but quick. UCLA was 5th in the
country in scoring offense a season ago, averaging
34.2 ppg but something along the lines of its
25.8 ppg average in 2004 is likely for this season.
Returning Starters
on Defense – 6 The best news about
the stop unit is that there is no where to go
but up. DeWayne Walker, who was with the Washington
Redskins, takes over as defensive coordinator
and his number one priority is to put some swagger
into the defense that has gotten worse in all
three seasons that head coach Karl Dorrell has
been in Los Angeles. There is good experience
throughout but this defense is ranked 7th in the
Pac Ten heading into the season. The strength
will be in the secondary once again but major
help in needed in the front seven. Defensive tackle
Kevin Brown is back after missing all of last
season and he will provide a needed boost to the
undersized defensive line. The linebackers will
all be new starters and the top six features only
one senior and one junior.
Schedule
- Oklahoma and San Diego St. are gone from the
schedule but the replacements are Notre Dame and
Utah so there is no advantage from that standpoint.
A home game against Rice is the only other non-conference
game on the schedule. Five of the nine conference
games are at home with the only really tough test
coming in the season finale against USC. The road
games are difficult with Washington being the
only sure win. Facing Oregon, California and Arizona
St. away from home will likely result in three
losses although the latter two come late in the
season when the Bruins could be finding its continuity.
It’s possible UCLA could be 5-0 heading
into that game at Oregon and a win there would
mean huge momentum going into the final out of
conference game at Notre Dame.
You can bet on…
Until the Bruins can take care of cross town rival
USC, every season will be considered a disappointment.
UCLA has not defeated the Trojans since 1998 but
this could be one of the best chances in a while
since USC is going through a “rebuilding”
season and has to travel to the Rose Bowl. The
Bruins are 14-5-1 ATS since 2000 against non-conference
foes and the first game against Utah will be a
good test. The Utes are a preseason top 25 team
but UCLA is a solid 10-2 against the number in
its last 12 home openers. The Bruins went 5-1
ATS last season as a home chalk and will be favored
in their first six home games this year.
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