UCLA Football: Oddsmakers Pessimistic About DeShaun Foster's First Season As Bruins HC
While the hiring of DeShaun Foster has plenty of people excited for a new era of UCLA football, the oddsmakers are not quite as optimistic.
Just three days after UCLA announced Foster as their next head coach, the odds have set UCLA's 2024 win total at over/under 5.5.
This is tied for the second-lowest over/under win total in the Big Ten conference in 2024. Only Purdue and Minnesota hold a lower over/under win total at 4.5, via Bet Online.
The Bruins finished the season 8-5 overall, but with just a 4-5 Pac-12 record. Still, the expected drop in wins is significant, with these odds suggesting the Bruins will likely finish the 2024 season with a losing record.
These odds are of course disappointing for what otherwise has been a celebratory week for UCLA, bringing in their new coach.
The hiring of Foster likely isn't the only reason for the drop in odds for the Bruins. For one, the Bruins were unable to bring in the best recruiting class and lost key players like Dante Moore in the transfer portal.
The most impactful loss was likely defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn. Lynn's No. 10 defense for UCLA was a major reason the Bruins won eight games in 2023. In addition to Lynn, the Bruins are losing key defenders like Laiatu Latu, Grayson Murphy, and Gabriel Murphy, who are headed for the NFL Draft. Kamari Ramsey and John Humphrey also left UCLA and transferred to USC instead.
On top of these losses, UCLA is joining the Big Ten. While the Big Ten likely wasn't as strong as the Pac-12 in 2023, the Bruins will still have to adjust to new opponents, more travel, and facing top schools like Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan.
None of this means that Foster and the Bruins won't make this win projection look silly, but that there are simply question marks UCLA has to answer before this figure improves.
