Is there a consensus if he will play Saturday?

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St. John Bosco SG Elzie Harrington, whose father is an associate professor of medicine at UCLA, picked up an offer today. He’s a five-star 2025 prospect ranked 8th nationally.

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UCLA on the list:

Looking at the schedules of the top teams, it appears that making the playoffs by winning out is unlikely.

Georgia - would have to lose two games and they have an easy road left other than the SEC Championship.
Tennessee - if they win out, they are likely in. Remaining schedule is soft.
TCU - likely has to win out to make the playoffs but the loser of Michigan vs. Ohio State will replace them if they lose.
Ohio State - if they beat Michigan and win the other three games against inferior opponents they are in. If they lose to Michigan then they get in if TCU loses.
Michigan - Copy of Ohio State.

Unless something crazy happens, Rose Bowl is as good as it gets but would be very happy with that finish. It is possible that we end up playing Michigan in the Rose Bowl. So, maybe cancelling the regular season game will work out for the best. If Michigan and Ohio State make the playoffs then Penn State is the most likely opponent.

If we win out the regular season but lose the Pac 12 Championship game, then the Cotton Bowl is possible. That could be a rematch with Cincinnati.

No matter what, we have to win the rest of the regular season games to get top bowl game. Otherwise, Alamo or Holiday.

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UCLA stays at No. 12 this week in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Five teams in the Pac-12 are ranked this week: No. 6 Oregon, No. 8 USC, No. 12 UCLA, No. 13 Utah, No. 25 Washington

Will be at basketball right after Chip

UCLA has officially announced the signings of four-star forwards Devin and Brandon Williams today as the first two official members of the 2023 class. The Bruins will continue to look into options heading into the rest of the cycle, but the first two recruits are now locked in after sending in their National Letters of Intent to the program today.

Here's what head coach Mick Cronin had to say about each of the players today after the signings were announced on the first day of the one-week early signing period for basketball prospects.

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“Devin Williams is a great prospect with tremendous length and skill,” Cronin said. “He’s a talented 6-foot-10 shot blocker who can also make shots. He’s a modern big man with skill and size. Devin is a tremendous person who comes from a great family and an elite high school program at Corona Centennial. He has a winning pedigree, having won back-to-back CIF Open Division titles in California. Devin has huge upside, and we believe he will continue to get better with his strong work ethic.”

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“Brandon Williams is a big guard at 6-foot-8 with tremendous skill and passing ability,” Cronin said. “He’s the youngest recruit in the 2023 class, as he is about to turn 17. He’s still growing. Brandon is a competitor on one of the best high school programs in America, Christ the King in Queens. We love his versatility, and we know he will be a great addition to our team. We are very excited that Brandon is heading West to become a Bruin.”

Chip meets at 9:05, then right after I’m heading over for men’s basketball media availability.

If that ends at a decent time, I’ll try to get back to football for the tail end of media observation to see if there are any updates with the injured players and what they’re doing.

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Andrej Stojakovic has become a clear top priority for Mick Cronin and the UCLA coaching staff. All the coaches were on hand a couple weeks ago to watch him at the Section 7 event in Arizona, and that came after his official visit with the Bruins. He has since taken an unofficial visit to St. Mary's but UCLA continues to look like the team to beat in his recruitment. I caught up with Stojakovic to discuss his recent official visit with the program and some of his major takeaways from the trip. The tradition at UCLA certainly is something that has remained with him since the visit, and UCLA made it a memorable trip.

“I wasn’t surprised, but I was definitely impressed by the way they cherish John Wooden on campus at such a a legendary school. Coach Cronin is close friends with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He definitely cherishes his moments with him and talks about him a lot. He always reminds the UCLA players that are there currently that they can be one of the greats and all that’s important is winning.”

UCLA hiring Ivo Simovic also came up in our conversation. I asked Stojakovic how that could impact his recruitment, and he says it will not push him to pick the Bruins but at the same time it is a big plus for the program since his dad, Peja, and the new Bruins assistant have a relationship that spans several years.

Read the entire story by hitting the link up top.

Getting a bit of a late start on my drive back to campus this morning after that late night. So, FYI, I might miss part or all of the observation period but will be there for the post-practice interviews at the very least.

I know it’s premature but I was thinking where does this team rank in at least recent Ucla history. Assuming they beat AZ, SC and Cal to go 11-1 where would you put them in your personal rankings?

If that happened I think they are the best team in the last 30+ years at Ucla. Definitely better than the Cade led teams IMO. Even though our defense is average it’s better than those defenses in the late 90’s.

I can’t say if they are better than the Aikman led teams as I never saw them with my own eyes. Based on what I read they had better defenses but their offense was much more conservative even though they had crazy talent.

Thoughts?

Making this now while I’m here. Tip-off should be around roughly 8:40 p.m.

A bit surprised it took this long, he’s had some quality games this year

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Not sure anyone thought UCLA would be ranked ahead of Alabama at any point this season, but they are one spot ahead in today’s AP poll.

As for the rest of the Pac-12: Oregon at No. 6, USC at 8, Utah at 13 and Washington is back in the poll at 24

Seats are 1-4 right on the aisle on the 40yl, plus Lot I pass and 4 WAF Hosp lounge passes for $200

Chip will speak in about 20 mins

Looking ahead to tonight’s opener against Sacramento State:

Besides his mostly brilliant play in all aspects this year, a few things really stand out:

He is the fastest guy on the field whenever it is needed. I remember Jerry Rice tracking down Deion after a pick one time. Terrell Owens could use situational adrenaline to be noticeably faster than guys whose 40 times were far better than his. A couple kids on my childhood swim team could track down swimmers ahead of them in relays who had beaten them in individual events. I am specifically thinking of two plays:
1. The 75 yard dead sprint by Allen, where DTR closed 15 yards to throw a screen block. He flew by pursuing DBs like they were standing still and was considerably faster than the 2018 California state champion in the 100 meters.

2. On several occasions he turned the corner when he had zero business beating the pursuing DBs to the edge. The best example was his second half rushing TD but he did it in the first half too. For the first half play I paused and rewound the play to see what DB he beat to the corner and it was a guy listed with a 4.2 40 and a sub 11 100 meters in high school track. (DJ Taylor)

Those situational bursts of speed are what makes a good player great and it’s sheer competitive drive and will.

Another thing that stands out is his ability to throw accurately while running in any direction. It can be frustrating to watch him miss on easy passes, but it is an amazing display of coordination when he squares his body while running left (or right or forward) at full speed and hits a receiver on the numbers.

He obviously took a while to get to this point, but in retrospect perhaps it was due to him not playing QB until his senior year of high school.

He does a few things that only a handful of QBs have ever done: Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick, Johnny Manziel, a few others…where you feel like they are playing at one speed and everyone else is in their orbit. It’s been a pleasure to watch.

Let’s keep this train on track.
Hope Charbs is ready.
Charbonnet/Kaz = Thunder/Lightning.

With ASU’s change at QB, there is one person UCLA cannot forget about, and more.

Another 7:30 p.m. contest, this time on big FOX. That’s the fourth late kickoff this season and third consecutive.

Kickoff at 7:30 p.m. on FS1

I hate these night road games against a team that has shown some life because of a new quarterback.
We know the Sun Devils will be sky high for us in their campus stadium.
We have to match that enthusiasm.
Get pumped up for this one Bruins.
Everything is on the line.