REPORT: UCLA Given Hardest Schedule in the Big Ten

UCLA will have to pick up key victories if it hopes to be bowl eligible in 2025.

Nov 8, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster on the sidelines during the second half against the the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

While he never had training wheels on during his first year as head coach, any grace for being inexperienced is gone for DeShaun Foster as the weight and the future of UCLA football rests firmly on his shoulders.

Foster is leading a group of men and a handpicked coaching staff into the fire that is the Big Ten regular season and according to College Football News' Pete Fiutak, UCLA has the toughest schedule in the conference.

"Do you have to play Ohio State or Penn State this year, or do you get Purdue or Northwestern? And who do you have to play on the road?" Fiutak wrote. "The schedules are bigger for Big Ten teams than they are for most - everyone misses eight other conference teams. So who has it toughest and who might have an easier run?

"It's all based off the schedule rankings on our Offseason First Look 1-136 Rankings. We have Rutgers 44th, so if you play the Scarlet Knights, you get 44 points. Play them on the road, cut that in half, and you get 22. The lower the score, the harder the game and the overall schedule."

"Again, the lower the score, the tougher the schedule and ranking. The No. 1 team has the hardest schedule, 18 has the easiest, and next to each team is the toughest game to easiest."

Flutak calculated a strength of schedule score of 376.5 for UCLA.

Below is his ranking of UCLA's toughest games (toughest to easiest)

1. At Ohio State

2. Penn State

3. At USC

4. At Indiana

5. At Michigan State

6. At Utah

7. At Northwestern

8. Nebraska

9. At UNLV

10. Washington

11. Maryland

12. New Mexico

So, the Bruins play both Penn State and Ohio State, arguably the two best teams in the conference. However, there is a soft portion of the schedule that should see UCLA grab at least six wins.

Who knows what Indiana will be like, and UCLA has the blueprint for its team via Tino Sunseri. Michigan State, Utah, Northwestern, Maryland and New Mexico all failed to be bowl eligible last season and their rosters haven't had massive improvements.

UCLA also beat Nebraska last year. While the math says the Bruins have the toughest schedule, there is no reason to believe they won't surpass expectations.

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