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UCLA Football: 5 reasons why the Bruins will struggle in 2017

By Matthew Bartlett

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 08: Head coach Jim Mora of the UCLA Bruins reacts during the second half of the college football game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium on October 8, 2016 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 23-20. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 08: Head coach Jim Mora of the UCLA Bruins reacts during the second half of the college football game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium on October 8, 2016 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 23-20. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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3. Returning production wasn’t good to begin with

Experience is never a bad thing. Having more snaps under your belt, provided a player stays healthy, can’t hurt him. That said, returning starters might be the most overblown statistic being thrown about in preseason conversations. The old adage “practice makes perfect” doesn’t work wonders. That’s the problem that UCLA will be facing this season.

Up front the Bruins return four of five starting offensive lineman. At the skill positions they return their two leading wide receivers, Jordan Lasley and Darren Andrews as well as running back Soso Jamabo. Add Josh Rosen to that mix and you get essentially the entirety of last year’s UCLA offense coming back for another tour of duty in 2017.

Read Also: 5 UCLA breakout candidates in 2017

The problem is the offense wasn’t any good last year. A portion of that can be chalked up to Rosen’s absence due to injury, but even with Rosen the Bruins were far from an offensive juggernaut. Rosen started six games last year and the UCLA offense only surpassed 24 points twice, scoring 42 against UNLV and 45 against an Arizona team that finished with the 117th ranked scoring defense in college football.

Rosen or not, the Bruins couldn’t move the football a year ago and that’s not going to change over night. There are a few high-octane offenses on their schedule, and the chances of the Bruins winning a shootout are slim.

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