UCLA Football News: Unnamed Coach Believes Football Program Can Emulate Fellow Pac-12 School

The UCLA Bruins came off a 2022 season where if things bounced their way, they could've been looking at a New Year's Six bowl appearance. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for your Bruins, but they will try to work their way back up there in 2023.

Working their way up is something UCLA is accustomed to; although they are a well-revered and well-known university throughout the world, its football program is quite the opposite.

UCLA is second among universities in NCAA championships with 121; however, none come from the football program. They've been trying to change that for years but have never been able to reach the pinnacle.

They have all the resources to get it done, but it hasn't happened for the Bruins. A climb to the top of college football elites may be a stretch, but an anonymous coach believes they could build something along the way similar to what their in-state rival Stanford Cardinals did in the mid-2010s.

“Maybe it’s a hot take, but if they keep building, they’re going to become what Stanford was a few years back,” the coach said. “They’re not USC, and I think they’re figuring out how to be something else in L.A.”

“It’s a strong academic school that still wants to be successful in football, and if you can find that balance, you can do something special in the Pac-12,” the coach continued.

(via On3)

That should be the right approach. The sad truth is UCLA will never be what USC is on the football side of things, so they shouldn't compete with them for supremacy in that sense. However, they can build something special if they can do it their way, similar to what the anonymous coach says.

It could all start in 2023; the team will have a young group with new fans to don the blue and gold, and they could build something beyond this season. UCLA will rely on many newcomers, especially in the offensive end; overall, we'll see how Chip Kelly and staff handle it going forward.