UCLA

[CatsbyAZ]

I would like to know what makes them the most popular university in the entire nation?

By which criteria? The world would like to know...

If ASU can assign "innovation" as a new standard of university criteria just to rank themselves number one in said criteria, what's stopping UCLA from doing the same with most popular?

[TheCatInTheHat]

It's the number of applicants. They get about 150,000 applications for about 8,000 openings.

UCLA again drew the largest number of first-year fall applications in the UC system — making it the most sought-after university in the nation — with 149,779 students seeking seats. Among them, 91,544 were Californians...

https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... on-records

[Merkin]

No idea why it would be most popular, but it has been the highest ranked public university in the nation by US News 5 years in a row.

Actually the UC system owns the top 10 with 5 other schools in it.

Five other UC campuses were among the top 10 public universities in the overall rankings: UC Berkeley (No. 2), UC Santa Barbara (5, tied), UC San Diego (8), UC Irvine (9) and UC Davis (10, tied).

Cal Poly SLO (part of the CSU) takes the top spot nationwide for schools that terminate at masters programs.

Take that Arizona universities!

[EastCoastCat]

University of Michigan where my daughter goes says otherwise.

https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-i ... -rankings/

https://record.umich.edu/articles/money ... for-value/

Depends on which ranking service you think is best.

[MrBug708]

I don't get it? They bitch because they are in the red and now they are doing this to put them further in the red even before they get some of that B1G money?

https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... -san-pedro

This is very confusing, but I think it's because you are very confused about everything. UCLA athletics isn't buying this land. UCLA, the University is buying this. The Big-12 money isn't going to the UCLA campus, just UCLA athletics. UCLA could wipe out the debt, but then they'd be using state funds and they have been avoiding using those to date.

[MrBug708]

The beginning of the article starts with...

...In a milestone move to expand enrollment at the nation’s most popular university by creating a satellite campus, UCLA announced Tuesday that it is buying two expansive properties owned by Marymount California University, a small Catholic institution in Rancho Palos Verdes that shuttered its doors last month....

I would like to know what makes them the most popular university in the entire nation?

By which criteria? The world would like to know...

More people apply to UCLA than any other college. Its standing as one of (if not the best) public institution in the US, combined with an easy check marked box on the UC application for any California High School Senior of Junior College Transfer student. It's not really a dubious claim to make.

[EastCoastCat]

Why is the mystery to me. I mean, they accepted ME so how good a school could it actually be?

[CatsbyAZ]

UCLA’s methodical home win over a dependably better, sturdier #11 Utah felt like watching the type of top ranked matchup usually delivered by the SEC or Big Ten, and to date is the most impressive win of Chip Kelly’s tenure.

If you're a Bruins fan there's a lot of positive signs to take away:

-UCLA’s playmakers broke open plays all game
-QB Thompson (passing for 18/23 299 yds 4 TDs) looked the part of a legitimate Heisman contender
-RB Zach Charbonnet rushing for 198 yds on 22 carries
-8 different WRs contributed with catches
-Bruins offense strung together long, calculated drives matching how Utah’s offense overpowers lesser opponents
-UCLA never allowed Utah to fully establish momentum by 4 different times answering a Utah FG (1) or TD (3) with a TD of their own, which all four times put the Bruins up by either 10 or 11 until pulling away in the 4th with a 42-25 lead
-UCLA made sure Utah paid for their 2 turnovers; one an interception in the end zone and the second run back to the Utes’ 1 yd line and setting up a TD that put the game out of reach for Utah, 42-25

Next up for #11 UCLA (6-0) is #12 Oregon (5-1) in Eugene with #7 USC their only ranked opponent left.

[EastCoastCat]

It will be good for an already beaten down league if both UCLA and SC go into their game undefeated.

Oh wait, they are both bolting for the B1G...

[UAEebs86]

fUCLA

[CatsbyAZ]

What better way to ring in this Saturday’s LA Crosstown rivalry between #18 UCLA and #7 USC than for the Bruins to beg USC to split charter flights to cut costs on lengthier travel to play their new Big Ten opponents.

When it comes to UCLA joining the Big Ten: “One of the obvious concerns student-athletes had — as did anyone with common sense when this move was announced — was travel, with UCLA now playing against schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in games often on weeknights for many sports. But don't worry, UCLA has the solution: it's going to share flights with USC.”

“UCLA intends to mitigate the travel impact on student-athletes by increasing access to charter flights and minimizing the number of days spent away from campus. After conducting a detailed cost estimate of charter flights to Big Ten schools, calculation the number of additional charter flights needed for each team and days spent away from campus, UCLA estimates that it will spend between $4.62 and $5.79 millions per year on increased travel expenses. These costs may be significantly reduced through efficiencies such as neutral site tournaments, shared flights between UCLA teams and USC teams, and other accommodations that can further reduce travel and travel costs to the Midwest and East Coast.”

[Merkin]

Wow, 140 very large athletes on a chartered airliner, along with many very large ex players as coaching staff traveling too.

Have to put the kickers next to OL players.

[CatsbyAZ]

Nationally Top QB recruit Donte Moore flips from Oregon to UCLA, giving Chip Kelly his next half decade DTR project. IMO, a win for both parties, at least from the standpoint of maximizing the potential for both setting each other up for the most success. It makes sense why Moore cooled on Oregon. Not only did his primary recruiter to Oregon (Kenny Dillingham) bail for the head coaching job at Arizona State, but Ducks QB Bo Nix just announced he’s returning to Oregon for another year. On top of all that Chip Kelly’s half decade of patient development with Dorian Thompson-Robinson, more of an athletic project than a ready-made QB, puts Moore in the right hands to start right away. CK started DTR since 2018 as a true freshman. Moore was determined, more than anything, to start right away.

[MrBug708]

It was a hell of a pickup where a lot of things broke right for UCLA. Even though DTR played as a Freshmen, Wilson Speights was brought in to start that year but he got hurt and DTR did play. Curious enough, UCLA also brought in a transfer QB and has a pretty crowded QB room at the moment, though I suspect it will sort itself out.

[TheCatInTheHat]

Perfect end to the traitors' season. DTR is one of the two least likable athletes in the Pac-12, alongside Tyger with a Y. Already injury-prone in college, he wouldn't make it out of the pre-season if any NFL GM is dumb enough to draft him. So, after pimping them for the national championship, the fanny-kissing LA media can now ruminate on "UCLA's lost opportunities" after they play a team with heart and lose the Tony the Tiger Bowl to Pitt.

[EastCoastCat]

What a shame.

[MrBug708]

Ah the life of a UCLA football fan

[ChooChooCat]

Ah the life of a UCLA football fan

Don't worry, it should get totally better in the Big Ten.

[TheCatInTheHat]

Enjoyed the Ben Bolch story in the Times today about how it looked like "good ol' DTR" was going to go out on top with a nice lead and a lot of trash talking and airplane gestures. How truly heart-warming and endearing that would have been. Then, when taken out after his third pick with (allegedly) a back injury and Pitt ahead, he was sad. UCLA came back (bad Pitt tackling), and he was happy again (more trash talking?) But then they lost, and he was sad at the end. Awww. I'm no doctor, but I think his apparently short-term injury may have been backbone-related. Truly great grimacing...but that's a kid who always knows exactly where the cameras are. Too bad WSU screwed up at the end last night; anyone on this board could have coached them better. But at least Tyger with a Y got to hurl the ball up in the air to celebrate the great triumph of WSU missing the winning shot.

[CatsbyAZ]

Of course Bruins backers wanted a feel-good last chapter for DTR, but if you’re playing in the Sun Bowl, after painful loss to your crosstown rival, the stakes are already so low and anticlimactic if you’re finishing your season in El Pass Gasso. The Holiday Bowl didn’t want UCLA after they cowed out last season; might’ve been better exposure to play Florida in the Vegas Bowl. Oh well, on to the offseason.

[EastCoastCat]

You do realize that nobody really cares about UCLA football, especially here.

[MrBug708]

You do realize that nobody really cares about UCLA football, especially here.

Lies!

[CatsbyAZ]

You do realize that nobody really cares about UCLA football, especially here.

I mean we have a whole thread for UCLA football

[EastCoastCat]

You do realize that nobody really cares about UCLA football, especially here.

I mean we have a whole thread for UCLA football

Curious as to why? They are not our rival, and offer little entertainment value outside of goading Bug.

Anyway, carry on I guess.

[Merkin]

Nice get.

[CatsbyAZ]

UCLA extends Chip Kelley from 2025 through 2027.

I'm so used to criticizing ADs who over sign their coaches at the first sniff of success that I barely bothered to stop and realize that what Jarmond is throwing to Kelly is a pretty moderate morsel.

But check out the justification from UCLA’s official press release:

“The ground attack was especially potent, as running back Zach Charbonnet led the charge behind an offensive-line unit regarded as one of the nation's best…Charbonnet averaged a conference-best 135.9 rushing yards and an FBS-leading 168.0 all-purpose yards.”

“Under Kelly's tutelage, signal caller Dorian Thompson-Robinson etched his name in the UCLA record book. Across Thompson-Robinson's school-record 48 starts at quarterback, he set new career standards for completions (860), touchdown passes (88), total touchdowns (116) passing yards (10,710), quarterback rushing yards (1,826), and total offense (12,536 yards).”

“For his work in the classroom, wide receiver Jake Bobo earned a First Team spot on the 2022 CSC Academic All-America Team.”

Since Bobo was also the team’s leading receiving, that’s the vast majority of UCLA’s production lost with DTR and Charbonnet moving on as well. Not to mention numerous experienced starters lost from last year, though this can be offset with Kelly bringing in a high amount of transfers, something he likes doing.

UCLA isn’t expected to be as good next year, especially on offense, but there you have it – an AD more than happy to grant an extension in the face of impending uncertainty intensified by UCLA’s move to the Big Ten. Although a fair case can be made this was necessary to bring Kelly's contract in line with a contract covering the eligibility duration of the current class his staff is recruiting.

[Merkin]

Did well at Oregon, and at UCLA the team had better records each successive season.

[MrBug708]

And the buyout is next to nothing in two years

[Merkin]

Always liked Ken.

[CardiacCats97]

Always wondered if Tate would have had a better career with Ken as his coach.

[MrBug708]

Ken's son also works for UCLA

[CatsbyAZ]

Listening to LA Sports radio earlier this week and the topic of Chip Kelly came up with Lavar Arrington asking USC Insider and Fox Sports football announcer Petros Papadakis - "How much pressure is on Chip Kelly for this season?"

Petros: "I don't think too much. Not as much as last year. I think Chip had a great year last year. I'm really interested to see what this team is, how this team operates, and what UCLA football under Chip Kelly is without Dorian Thompson Robinson...I mean Chip rode that guy...he played DTR all six years or something And there were very mixed results. DTR was a very exciting player, an explosive player but lost a lot of games with turnovers. And it looked as if the Bruins really cleaned up last season - hence the great start. And DTR had three picks against USC and lost. DTR had three picks in the Sun Bowl and limped off the field."

I agree Chip's seat isn't burning red this offseason. Going 8-4 and 9-4 these past two seasons, as well as likely rolling out a freshman QB for 2023, likely holds Chip over through the Bruins last season of Pac 12 play. But the pressure is back on once Wisconsin, Penn State, etc hit the schedule.

[MrBug708]

A lot riding on the freshmen QB Moore. He looks like the real deal, very polished, and Chip knows how to create an offense. But who really knows what will happen.

[azcat49]

Might be harder to replace Charbenot than DTR. Backs are kind of a dime a dozen but I really liked that guy. DTR was turnover prone and I think they can match his prowess and coach the new guy up

[MrBug708]

Chip's bread and butter is the RB spot. There might be a drop off from the top guy, but I expect to be an elite rushing team still.

[84Cat]

[MrBug708]

Trying to squeeze some money out of the P12 before it shuts down?

[wyo-cat]

San Diego County Credit Union swings a big stick.

[CatsbyAZ]

I had tickets to that particular Holiday Bowl and am still disappointed it was cancelled at the last minute, 3 hours before kickoff. I was even outside the stadium when the news came down, and had bought a t-shirt featuring the UCLA/NC State helmets for a Holiday Bowl that never kicked off.

The Bruins backed out of playing in the Holiday Bowl with no warning just hours before kickoff, bucking Chip Kelly’s promise the day before: “If someone comes down with symptoms later on this afternoon they will get tested. We will test kids up until game time. We have our fingers crossed... our mindset is if we have 11 we will play.”

At the time my guess was that Chip Kelly was more than happy to end up NOT playing North Carolina State because in his four seasons at UCLA, the Bruins had yet to beat a team that finishes the season with a winning record. A loss to ranked North Carolina State would’ve dropped UCLA to 8-5 and damaged the goodwill built up not only by three straight wins to end the regular season, but in notching UCLA’s first winning season since Chip Kelly took helm.

Looking back, I don't stand by that opinion anymore, but the cavalier, unexplained, last minute WAY UCLA backed out is what's exposing them to this lawsuit. I don't think the Holiday Bowl will win this case, but that might not be the point. If they can get this to a discovery phase UCLA will finally be answering to what came across as a pretty careless decision. And I wouldn't be surprised if Fox Sports is partially funding this lawsuit. A lot of TV revenue went to waste when UCLA backed out.

Worth noting the Holiday Bowl's response could not have been better - they refunded everybody's tickets.

[Merkin]

The Bruins backed out of playing in the Holiday Bowl with no warning just hours before kickoff, bucking Chip Kelly’s promise the day before: “If someone comes down with symptoms later on this afternoon they will get tested. We will test kids up until game time. We have our fingers crossed... our mindset is if we have 11 we will play.”

Cowards.

However, Holiday Bowl officials said UCLA told them they had only three players test positive.

[MrBug708]

I don't know what's the unexplained part when they had multiple kids out with COVID during a pandemic. My guess is UCLA will point to the rise in cases times perfectly with the forced public appearances that come with the bowl bid as well as the idea that UCLA had no intention of playing in the bowl game when they could have easily turned down the bowl game (with a school history) and not rack up their own personal expenses for the appearance when they were hemorrhaging money during the pandemic.

Holiday bowl is also skipping payment for Oregon last year. Just another organization trying to profit on the global pandemic.

I'm sure we will have to pay Cal for something or another.

[CatsbyAZ]

I don't know what's the unexplained part when they had multiple kids out with COVID during a pandemic.

That’s what the lawsuit is for. To get to a discovery phase and determine whether UCLA misrepresented their situation by using Covid as an excuse to back out.

[MrBug708]

I don't know what's the unexplained part when they had multiple kids out with COVID during a pandemic.

That’s what the lawsuit is for. To get to a discovery phase and determine whether UCLA misrepresented their situation by using Covid as an excuse to back out.

This was the CA policy at the time:

"Someone who has shared the same indoor space that is less than 400,000 cubic feet in size (for example, homes, waiting rooms, airplanes, etc.) with an infectious person for a total of 15 minutes or more within a 24-hour period is considered to be a "close contact" for COVID-19, regardless of how close they were to the infectious person in that indoor space. This may include people living in the infected person's home, caregivers, classmates, and co-workers who were in a shared indoor airspace with the infectious person when they were contagious."


UCLA doesn't make state policy. Chip Kelly commenting that he wants to play doesn't supercede state policy. When players tested positive everyone that had been near them was also ineligible. It wasn't three positive tests on the morning, it was them plus everybody they had been indoors with them for more than 15 minutes. Maybe the Bowl Committee shouldn't have sent the teams into the bowels of a naval ship together for a photo op.

My guess is the Holiday Bowl was hoping for a quick settlement and they were told to pound sand.

[Merkin]

[CardiacCats97]

The future B1G schedule is pure chaos. I love it for UCLA and USC. Enjoy those 11am kicks at Maryland and Rutgers.

[azcat49]

LSU, Ohio St, Michigan and USC, wow. Good luck with that schedule

Anyone see USC’s schedule? My guess is that it’s not nearly as difficult

[wyo-cat]

The future B1G schedule is pure chaos. I love it for UCLA and USC. Enjoy those 11am kicks at Maryland and Rutgers.

IU, Purdue, OSU, Mich, and Ped State are all in the Easter time zone.

[TheCatInTheHat]

If you want to talk about a trap game, how about Rutgers? 3,000 miles away and likely bad weather (cold, at least) in late November. That's after flying back and forth to Michigan in early November, then playing Nebraska, and before playing USC. Well, they wanted it...now they're going to get it. And this may not be anywhere near the worst schedule they ever play. Meanwhile, I've gotta say...the UCLA people I've met really attach their egos to bogus academic rankings and go out of their way to sneer at whoever they can find who'll listen to their sneering. We've beaten them in football many times when we weren't very good, which exposed them. And we've generally been just a tad better than them in hoops since the mid 80s, which also frustrates them no end. So they hate us, as it screws up the narrative. I recognize USC's long history of institutional corruption, so you'd think you'd root for "the gutty little Bruins", at least in football, versus USC. But I have to say the people I've met associated with USC (real students and employees, not yahoo fans) have been fairly pleasant, comfortable in their own skin, and laid-back by comparison. I don't give a hoot who wins between them, but there's no love lost on UCLA. Schadenfreude means "beat LA" will never get old after you've had enough beers in the rust belt.

[RichardCranium]

University of Michigan where my daughter goes says otherwise.

https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-i ... -rankings/

https://record.umich.edu/articles/money ... for-value/

Depends on which ranking service you think is best.

Anecdotally i would have said Notre Dame.

[EastCoastCat]

University of Michigan where my daughter goes says otherwise.

https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-i ... -rankings/

https://record.umich.edu/articles/money ... for-value/

Depends on which ranking service you think is best.

Anecdotally i would have said Notre Dame.

RC - I think we were talking about public universities, but don't disagree that ND is one of the finer institutions in the country and very hard to get in.