Pac-12 Announces 2023 Football Schedule, UCLA's Full Slate Revealed

Before they officially depart for the Big Ten, the Bruins will have one more go-round against Cal, Stanford, Arizona and company.
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The Bruins' final journey through Pac-12 play has officially been mapped out.

The Pac-12 released the 2023 football schedule on Wednesday, giving the complete picture of UCLA football's slate for the upcoming season – their last one before joining the Big Ten. The Bruins will play just six home games after playing seven in 2021 and eight in 2022.

After opening things up with their run of nonconference games against Coastal Carolina, San Diego State and North Carolina Central, UCLA will kick off Pac-12 play in Salt Lake City against Utah on Sept. 23. The Bruins snapped a five-game losing streak against the Utes this past fall, but UCLA hasn't won in Rice-Eccles Stadium since 2015.

The Bruins will roll right into a bye week from there, making their return for a home game versus Washington State on Oct. 6.

That game will mark the first time UCLA and Washington State have faced off since the Bruins' iconic 67-63 comeback win over the then-No. 19 Cougars in Pullman in 2019. The two sides haven't faced off in the Rose Bowl since 2015, when Washington State came away with the 31-27 victory.

UCLA will play eight weeks in a row starting there – nine if they make the Pac-12 championship game – which conjures memories of the team playing nine weeks in a row back in coach Chip Kelly's first year in the program in 2018.

Next up on the schedule is a road game against Oregon State, a trip UCLA hasn't made since 2015 – Josh Rosen's freshman year. The Bruins have only gone up to Corvallis once in the last 11 seasons, since COVID-19 shuffled up their 2020 schedule.

UCLA will take on Stanford up in the Bay a week after that in what could be the final meeting between the two rivals for some time. Outside of the years when the United States was fighting in World War II, the Bruins and Cardinal have met every season dating back to 1928.

After those back-to-back road games, UCLA will face coach Deion Sanders and Colorado at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 28. The Bruins will then face Arizona in Tucson on Nov. 4.

UCLA is set to face Arizona State in Pasadena on Nov. 11, followed by its crosstown rivalry game with USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 18.

The Bruins will wrap up the regular season against California back at home. Unlike the Stanford rivalry, the two flagship UC campuses have faced off every season uninterrupted since 1933, making it one of the longest unbroken series in all of college football.

Much to the dismay of Golden Bear fans and supporters, Cal won't be making the move to the Big Ten alongside UCLA, making the 2023 regular season finale a poetic end to the Bruins' stay in the Pac-12.

Since UCLA is scheduled to play Oregon State and Washington State, the Bruins have played their final conference games against Oregon and Washington, although they could theoretically meet again in the Pac-12 championship.

UCLA's full 2023 schedule can be found below:

Saturday, Sept. 2: vs. Coastal Carolina

Saturday, Sept. 9: @ San Diego State

Saturday, Sept. 16: vs. North Carolina Central

Saturday, Sept. 23: @ Utah

Saturday, Sept. 30: BYE

Saturday, Oct. 7: vs. Washington State

Saturday, Oct. 14: @ Oregon State

Saturday, Oct. 21: @ Stanford

Saturday, Oct. 28: vs. Colorado

Saturday, Nov. 4: @ Arizona

Saturday, Nov. 11: vs. Arizona State

Saturday, Nov. 18: @ USC

Saturday, Nov. 25: vs. California

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon was the Publisher and Managing Editor at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s All Bruins from 2021 to 2023. He is now a staff writer at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s Fastball. He previously covered UCLA football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country and golf for The Daily Bruin from 2017 to 2021, serving as the paper's Sports Editor from 2019 to 2020. Connon has also been a contributor for 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' BruinBlitz, Dash Sports TV, SuperWestSports, Prime Time Sports Talk, The Sports Life Blog and Patriots Country, Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s New England Patriots site. His work as a sports columnist has been awarded by the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon graduated from UCLA in June 2021 and is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts.