UCLA Football: Bruins Power Rankings Spot Revealed After Decisive Loss to LSU

Jeremy Hanna | Sep 25, 2024

Bruins Quarterback Ethan Garbers 4 as the LSU Tigers take on UCLA at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins' introduction to the Big Ten Conference has been humbling, to say the least.

After a narrow comeback victory against Hawaii, UCLA lost in decisive fashion to Indiana (42-13) and LSU (34-17).

While the UCLA offense seemed to improve in their matchup against LSU, it was held back by a weak offensive line, which allowed five sacks on quarterback Ethan Garbers. Still, he was able to throw for 281 passing yards and two touchdowns with only one interception.

On top of that, the Bruins' defense was unable to contain the Tigers' offense. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns. LSU also rushed for 102 yards compared to UCLA's 14 yards.

This leaves the Bruins with an undesirable 1-2 record heading into difficult match ups against Oregon and Penn State.

When asked about these losses, head coach DeShaun Foster had a simple response: the Bruins need to stop beating themselves.

"We can’t continue to beat ourselves, we have to allow a team to beat us, but this is baby steps and I just like the way that my team is fighting," Foster told reporters after the loss to LSU, "they’re being resilient and they’re continually trying to fight during the game."

Still, these losses have caused outlets and experts to assess the team. And the rankings don't look too promising.

According to Steve Samra of On3.com, UCLA is ranked 15th in their Big Ten power rankings. While the Bruins are ahead of three other teams, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Purdue, the 14 teams ahead of them are some of the toughest in the nation.

This includes Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, Michigan, and rival USC, who make up the Top 5. Additionally, Ohio State and Penn State are ranked fifth and sixth in the entire NCAA, while UCLA is currently ranked 65th.

These rankings were determined by the On3 Massey Rating, which ranks teams by "analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory." It has been used to generate high school sports team rankings since 1995.

Things aren't going to get easier for the Bruins. Not only are they facing two Top 10 teams in the next two weeks, they have one of the toughest schedules in the Big Ten.

If these first three games are anything to go by, this entire season will prove to be a trial by fire for Foster's first season as head coach.

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