UCLA Football: 5 bold predictions for the Bruins in November 2017
By Dana Becker
4. Will Mora be at UCLA next year?
Since taking over at UCLA in 2012, Mora has watched his win total drop almost every season.
After going 9-4 the first season before falling in the Holiday Bowl, Mora and the Bruins posted back-to-back 10-3 seasons that included bowl wins in the Sun and Alamo. They also finished second in the Pac-12 South each of those years after winning the division in 2012.
In 2015, though, the win total dropped to eight and was split in half last year as injuries left UCLA at 4-8 and home for the holidays.
This season, the Bruins scored a thrilling come-from-behind victory at home over Texas A&M and followed that up with 56 points in a win over Hawai’i. Back-to-back road losses vs. Memphis and Stanford left them at 2-2 before a win over Colorado.
Losses to Arizona and Washington around a win at home over Oregon sees UCLA at 4-4 with four games to go. Win out, and they head to a good bowl and finish with a winning record, likely keeping Mora’s job for another season.
The game with Utah this Friday is a toss-up, but they should be favored vs. Arizona State and California, with USC sandwiched between. Maybe 7-6 or 8-5 await the staff with the bowl game to follow.
Keeping Mora, though, ties into the next bold prediction.