College Football SMQ: Which fallen blue blood program will win a championship next?
By Zach Bigalke
UCLA has spent decades watching its crosstown rival earn national championships. The Bruins have just one national championship to their name, a share of the 1954 title. That UCLA team finished first in the Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the AP Top 25 behind an Ohio State team that beat the Bruins in the Rose Bowl.
The Bruins are blessed with plenty of benefits. UCLA is located in the heart of a recruiting hotbed and they play at a historic home venue in the Rose Bowl. The university has a history of success in basketball and other sports. There is no reason why UCLA shouldn’t be a perennial contender in the Pac-12.
The program made a major bid to return to blue blood status. After parting ways with Jim Mora as their head coach, UCLA turned to former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly to take over the program. Kelly returns to the college ranks after four years in the NFL and a year in the television studio, so it is quite a gamble by the Bruins.
If Kelly can recapture the magic that made him one of college football’s offensive masterminds in Eugene, however, he could put a second Pac-12 school on the path toward blue blood status. Should that happen, UCLA could be the next team to pull off a return to the top of the sport.