UCLA vs. Hawaii Week 0 Predictions

UCLA is set to kick off its 102nd season when Hawaii visits the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

The Bruins and Rainbow Warriors will play for the fourth time ever, with UCLA currently owning the series 3-0. They won the last matchup handily, taking Hawaii down 56-23 behind Josh Rosen in 2017.

A lot has changed since then, however – the Bruins are 0-7 in nonconference games and the Rainbow Warriors are now coached by then-Arizona State coach Todd Graham. On the Bruins' side, Chip Kelly and Dorian Thompson-Robinson lead the way, along with a highly-touted one-two punch of Brittain Brown and Zach Charbonnet coming out of the backfield. That seems to bode well for UCLA, considering Hawaii allowed over 200 rushing yards per game in 2020, but the Bruins' opponents, on the other hand, have averaged nearly 300 passing yards per game over the last two seasons.

All Bruins is making its picks for who will win, what the score will be and how the game will play out, courtesy of Managing Editor Sam Connon and contributing writer Benjamin Royer.

Sam Connon, Managing Editor

Prediction: UCLA 41, Hawaii 27

As rough of a statistical season as the Bruins' secondary had in 2020, it actually wasn't all bad.

To make myself clear, allowing 274.1 passing yards per game is never good, considering it ranked second to last in UCLA history and in the Pac-12. It was technically a step up from the 310.8 allowed in 2019, but still not great by any stretch.

The one positive is that UCLA's defense largely made sub-par quarterbacks look like sub-par quarterbacks. Jayden Daniels, Kedon Slovis and Davis Mills averaged 349.7 yards per game in the Bruins' final three outings, and Pac-12 passer rating champion Tyler Shough did some real damage as well. Against Cal and Arizona, however, UCLA allowed just 137.5 passing yards per game without a single passing touchdown compared to three interceptions.

All of this is just a long, drawn out lead up to the idea that Hawaii quarterback Chevan Cordeiro doesn't really scare me all that much – at least, his arm doesn't.

His ability to take care of the ball is admirable, but Cordeiro's 6.7 yards per attempt and 129.1 passer rating demonstrate how UCLA should be able to shut him down through the air with relative ease. That's even accounting for running back/receiver hybrid Calvin Turner, who certainly needs to be contained, but doesn't project to be a back-breaker for the Bruins – he averaged 85.6 yards and 1.2 touchdowns from scrimmage in losses and 106.8 and 1.0 in wins, so not exactly a major production gap considering the small sample sizes.

Instead, UCLA needs to divert all of its focus on shutting down Cordeiro on the ground. He's a threat to run the ball on designed keeps, options and scrambles, and he has proven capable of breaking of 50-yard touchdowns and gut-punching first downs.

That will be the key for the Bruins' defense, and moving Bo Calvert to raider, bringing in Jordan Genmark Heath from Notre Dame and Ale Kaho from Alabama and giving all the returning starters an extra year in assistant head coach Brian Norwood's system should help them do what has to be done.

Cordeiro won't get shut out of the box score entirely though, and I still expect him to pick up some big gains here and there. So while he'll help the Rainbow Warriors put a decent amount of points on the board, it won't be enough for them to keep pace with the Bruins.

UCLA will likely lean on the run early, and that should help them eat clock, dominate possession and build a semi-stable lead in the first half. Once Kelly and offensive coordinator Justin Frye get into a groove calling plays leading into halftime, they'll let Thompson-Robinson start making big plays, and that will end up breaking the game wide open.

It'll be a high-scoring affair, but one the Bruins should emerge from comfortably.

Benjamin Royer, contributing writer

Prediction: UCLA 27, Hawaii 13

Kelly is 0-6 in non conference games since becoming the man in charge at UCLA, and that has to change in 2021 if he wants to start in good graces with Bruin fans.

Though it won’t be easy, change is coming for the Bruins – at least for their Week 0 matchup versus Hawai’i.

Thompson-Robinson is back in the spotlight, but the tailbacks listed 1 and 2 on the depth chart will be the difference makers for UCLA on Saturday. Brown and Charbonnet should deliver a one-two punch that will be hard to keep up with for the Rainbow Warriors’ run defense that allowed a substandard 212.3 rushing yards per game in 2020.

The Bruins' recent struggles to string together consistent play in early-season games, while it won't cost them the win this time around, will stick around in some capacity in 2021.

Hawai’i will keep it close up until the fourth quarter of this contest, but UCLA's experience mixed with playing in the Rose Bowl heat will only play to their advantage as the Bruins tally points on late. The defensive unit should have a comfortable day at work, despite their statistical failures under Jerry Azzinaro in years past.

Sports are not easy to predict and an unwelcome surprise could hit the Bruins, but they should come out of this game feeling comfortable heading towards LSU.

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow Royer on Twitter at @thebenroyer
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