Football predictions UCLA vs. Alabama State College: Week 2

The Bruins have a chance to win their fourth non-conference game in five tries after starting the Chip Kelly era 0-6 in such contests.

UCLA football (1-0) will play Alabama State (2-0) in the Rose Bowl on Saturday. The Bruins have never played the Hornets as this is their first time playing an FCS opponent. UCLA enters the game as a 50-point favorite.

All Bruins are choosing who will win, what the score will be, and how the game will play out, courtesy of Editor-in-Chief Sam Connon and contributing writer Benjamin Royer.

Sam Connon, Editor-in-Chief

Prediction: UCLA 51, Alabama State 13

If you thought the final three quarters of last week’s game were one-sided, just wait until the Bruins and Hornets start on Saturday.

Alabama State lost 62-0 to Auburn in 2021 and 49-12 to Florida State in 2019, with both schools finishing the year 6-7. Even since 2013, Kentucky beat Alabama State 48-14 en route to a 2-10 record.

So as scary as the start of the first game against Bowling Green was, keep in mind that this opponent is not an FBS show like the Falcons are. That’s not to completely discredit the Hornets and what they bring to the table, but they just don’t have the weapons to come close to competing with the Bruins.

UCLA came a few special teams mishaps away from beating Bowling Green 51-7 in Week 1, and even the final score of 45-17 doesn’t seem too bad in the slightest considering what went wrong early on. Dorian Thompson-Robinson didn’t have a perfect game, the offensive line was shaky early and Zach Charbonnet didn’t really have any signature runs.

Expect both Thompson-Robinson and Charbonnet to be more effective and efficient this time around, and expect most of those special teams issues to be resolved in short order.

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The two teams will get to garbage time before the Bruins and Falcons last week, so perhaps the final score will make it look like a similar result to the previous week, but it’s sure to be a more dominant performance from UCLA against an awfully overcome. adversary.

Benjamin Royer, Contributing Writer

Prediction: UCLA 52, Alabama State 7

Take away the first quarter of the Week 1 matchup with Bowling Green and UCLA’s heavy-handed victory over the Falcons looks much better on the surface.

The truth is that Bowling Green would have no problem beating Alabama State. UCLA should push the game even further toward a cemented win to bring the Bruins’ record to 2-0.

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson looked perfect to start the season. Although Duke transfer Jake Bobo, who is expected to fill the role of WR1, did not fully engage with the offense, UCLA produced the third-ranked total offense in FBS with 626 yards.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Coach Chip Kelly’s offense top the Week 1 total in Week 2. If the Bruins can be dynamic enough on the ball, it’ll be tough to beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl all season, but errors in particular We must remedy the teams so that they do not decline due to their own error.

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