The national media has jumped on the Bruin bandwagon.
UCLA football (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) scored 510 points in Week 6 of the AP poll Sunday, ranking 18th in the country. The Bruins haven’t featured in the rankings all season – they only received four total votes in the first five polls of the year – but have now earned the national attention that comes with an undefeated start and an upset prime-time win.
While victories over Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama and Colorado didn’t move the needle, a win over then-No. 15 Washington did. The Bruins took a 24-point lead in the second half and eventually won the Rose Bowl 40-32, giving them their first 5-0 start since 2015.
The last time UCLA ranked was week 5 of the 2021 season when they finished 20th with a road win over Stanford. However, a loss to Arizona State the following weekend knocked them out of the top 25, and the Bruins were unable to crawl back up the polls for the remainder of the season.
UCLA has played 48 games with coach Chip Kelly directing the program, but they have only been ranked in three of those competitions. The highest the Bruins have achieved in the polls was No. 13, after a bye week and their big win over then-No. 16 LSU at the Rose Bowl in September 2021.
In 2022, Mercury News’ Jon Wilner and Orange County Register’s Adam Grosbard had the Bruins ranked 25th on their preseason ballots, but dropped them in the weeks that followed. David Thompson of the Fayetteville Observer was the only voter to have UCLA on his ballot in Week 5, smashing it in at No. 23.
Now UCLA is on almost every ballot.
UCLA also made its debut in USA Today’s Coaches Poll, ranking 19th the previous Sunday.
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At the top of the AP poll, Georgia gave up its first-place finish after narrowly escaping an upset against unranked Missouri. Alabama captured first place despite receiving fewer first place votes than the Bulldogs, while Ohio State stayed at No. 3 with some additional top votes.
Elsewhere in the Pac-12, USC stayed in 6th place after shaking off a difficult start to beat Arizona State. Utah rose from 12th to 11th thanks to its 42-16 win over Oregon State, while Oregon climbed from 13th to 12th after beating Stanford 45-27.
Washington State stayed at No. 26 in the votes received segment, picking up a few extra points thanks to its 28-9 win over Cal. Oregon State fell out of the polls entirely after losing for the second straight game. Washington, on the other hand, fell from 15th to 21st after losing to UCLA.
The Bruins are third-highest in the Pac-12 and their next game is Saturday at the Rose Bowl against the No. 11 Utes.
The full AP poll is below:
1. Alabama (5-0), 1523 points (25 First Place Votes)
2. Georgia (5-0), 1521 (28)
3. Ohio State (5-0), 1488 (10)
4. Michigan (5-0), 1348
5. Clemson (5-0), 1345
6. USC (5-0), 1233
7. Oklahoma State (4-0), 1182
8th. Tennessee (4-0), 1129
9. Ole Miss (5-0), 1068
10 Pennsylvania (5-0), 959
11. Utah (4-1), 884
12. Oregon (4-1), 872
13. Kentucky (4-1), 832
14 North Carolina State (4-1), 691
fifteen. Wachwald (4-1), 627
16 BYU (4-1), 550
17 TCU (4-0), 514
18 UCLA (5-0), 510
19 Kansas (5-0), 476
20 State of Kansas (4-1), 417
21 Washington (4-1), 180
22 Syracuse (5-0), 173
23 Mississippi State (4-1), 134
24 Cincinnati (4-1), 134
25 LSU (4-1), 108
Others receiving votes: Washington State 91, Baylor 88, Florida 78, Arkansas 76, James Madison 39, Florida 37, Maryland 25, Coastal Carolina 17, Minnesota 14, Tulane 9, Illinois 6, North Carolina 5, Texas A&M 4, Purdue 2, Oklahoma 2
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