Bruins' Week 1 Matchup Deemed Sleeper CFB Game

Many feel this Pac-12 rematch is one of the most underrated matchups of opening week.

Sep 23, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; UCLA Bruins offense lines up against the Utah Utes defense in the fourth quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins are taking on the Utah Utes on Saturday's latest start time, 8 p.m. PT, and national pundits are deeming it as one of the more underrated matchups of opening weekend.

The former Pac-12 foes were listed in The Athletic Staff Writer Steven Louis Goldstein's college football Week 1 streaming guide as Saturday's slate's best potential chaos agent for it's near-midnight East Coast start time.

"The latest of late kickoffs teems with inherent chaos," Goldstein wrote. "Utah was also a sleeper of disorder last year. While the Utes only won five games, they pushed ranked Iowa State to a field goal-finish and lost to then-No. 9 BYU by one point. Devon Dampier, brought over from New Mexico, has dual-threat swagger and question-mark upside. UCLA landed electric QB transfer Nico Iamaleava in the offseason portal. Iamaleava is coming off a CFP bid with Tennessee, and he gets to reset at the Rose Bowl."

The Bruins are going into the Rose Bowl as underdogs, but DeShaun Foster and his squad are looking to surprise a ton of people this season. The first obstacle, though, is this late kickoff.

UCLA's Late Night Kickoff Presents Unique Week 1 Obstacle

Nov 8, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster leaves the field with the game ball after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

While the program has spent the last month preparing for the Utes, the late kickoff presents a unique challenge to open up the season.

"It's a tough thing, you know, just playing that late at night," Foster said during Monday's media availability. "But, if they want to play big-time ball on Sunday, Monday night games, Sunday night games, this is the same thing. They got to get used to being able to get ready to play no matter what the time is.

"But we're going to make sure that they get enough rest and their body clocks don't start until a later time, just so when 10 o'clock comes, you're not sleepy, you're still ready to go."

Saturday's late start isn't the only thing to look forward to. The season-opener against the Utes allows the Bruins to kickstart a turnaround year.

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