The 2024 schedule for the UCLA football team would be a challenge for just about anyone, let alone for a program that had to replace its head coach less than two months before spring camp and during an offseason it was transitioning to a new, bigger conference.
Bruins first-year head coach DeShaun Foster is aware that some of the road environments in the Big Ten will be hostile, with a trip to Penn State, in particular, on the early-season menu. If anything, UCLA avoided the most daunting of schedules with Michigan and Ohio State both left off this season’s slate.
Foster, though, said when he was hired in mid-February that he’s not looking for moral victories.
“I’m not here for a hidden agenda, ‘Oh, we played well’ — none of that,” Foster said. “We’ve got to win games. … I'm trying to produce. We’ve got to win games to get (future recruits).”
Well, with five opponents ranked in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll — including two in the top eight and three within the top 13 — there are very few breaks in the schedule. Let’s dive into it and throw around some projections:
First two games are critical
