UCLA Football: CFB Expert Believes Loss to Oregon State Could Derail Bruins Pac-12 Title Chances

A pivotal midseason clash.

UCLA and Oregon State both rank in the AP Top 20 but only one team can survive their upcoming gridiron battle on Saturday night. 

The Pac-12's final season before conference realignment has been quite the swan song and this matchup could have major title implications by December.  

UCLA and Oregon State each have one loss in conference play and a second could severely dampen conference championship aspirations. The Bruins' defense has been stellar this season and impacting Beavers quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei could result in a victory. 

via Raymond Lucas Jr., Bruin Report

Dante Moore faces his biggest test yet as UCLA's starting quarterback in what should be a heated battle between him and his counterpart Uiageleilei. 

The former Clemson product turned Beaver is coming off his best game of the season against Cal and will hope to ride this momentum into battle against Chip Kelly's roster. 

Kelly already described the challenges of stopping Oregon State's signal called and Moore will have his hands full to keep up with him. 

UCLA lags behind the Beavers and Utah in the conference standings despite their shared record of one loss each. 

The Utes can thank their Week 4 defensive effort for their standing ahead of UCLA while the Beavers' upset win against those same Utes explains their respective ranking ahead of the Bruins. 

Washington, Oregon and USC all remain undefeated heading into Week 7 as top 10 teams and some serious conference shakeups will hit each team by the Pac-12 title game. 

Something's got to give for each of these great teams and a Bruins win against a ranked conference would do wonders in the eyes of AP voters. 

The Beavers await UCLA on the gridiron in what could be the Bruins' most important game of 2023 yet. 

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