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With the start of the 2023 season just around the corner, BeaversEdge kicks off the first in an opponent preview series diving into all 12 of Oregon State's opponents in 2023...
Up next is a home matchup with the UCLA Bruins, an opponent the Beavers haven't faced since 2019...
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THE GAME
Date: Saturday, October 14th
Time: TBD
Location: Reser Stadium - Corvallis, Ore.
TV: TBD
Oregon State 2022 record: 10-3 (6-3 Pac-12)
UCLA 2022 record: 9-4 (6-3 Pac-12)
UCLA Head Coach: Chip Kelly (73-36 overall, 27-29 UCLA)
DID YOU KNOW? The Beavers haven't hosted the Bruins in Corvallis since the 2015 season, and haven't played UCLA since 2019...
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UCLA 2022 RECAP
It was Chip Kelly's best year in Westwood as the Bruins went 9-4 overall with a 6-3 mark in Pac-12 play in 2022...
The Bruins started the season on fire, opening the season 6-0 with wins over Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama, Colorado, Washington, and Utah.
Minus the nonconference, that's an impressive stretch of wins, notably Utah and Washington who were both elite squads last season.
UCLA stumbled down the stretch however, and lost some very tough games, including a two-score loss to Oregon in Chip Kelly's return to Eugene, a surprising six-point loss to Arizona, and a three-point loss to crosstown rival USC.
The Bruins closed the regular season with a win over Cal, but dropped the Sun Bowl to Pittsburgh to end the campaign...
Best Win: vs Washington (40-32) or vs Utah (42-32)
Worst Loss: vs Arizona (34-28)
UCLA 2023 Outlook
With Dorian Thompson-Robinson off the NFL, the Bruins will be breaking in a new quarterback for the first time since 2017. DTR was synonymous with UCLA football these past five seasons and it's going to be very interesting to see how the Bruins fare with a new man under center.
The Bruins landed arguably the top quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class in Dante Moore, but he's still a true freshman. Outside of Moore, Kelly brought in Kent State transfer Collin Schlee and also has Ethan Garbers in the mix as well. How quickly the new quarterback takes the reins of the system will likely be a huge indication of UCLA's success this season.
UCLA also lost do-it-all running back Zach Charbonnet to graduation after a stellar career, so they'll be relying on transfer Carson Steele to fill the void after leading Ball State in rushing a season ago. Keegan Jones also returns in the backfield after tallying 300 rushing yards and 200 receiving yards a year ago.
Defensively, the Bruins figure to put solid pressure on the quarterback as the Murphy twins return on the edges and have a strong inside presence in Laiatu Latu... The secondary will be a bit of a question mark...
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Key Players: QB Dante Moore, Ethan Garbers, Collin Schlee, RB Keegan Jones, RB Carson Steele, DL Gabriel Murphy, DL Grayson Murphy, LB Laiatu Latu
Season Projection: 8-4
Early Prediction
This is an interesting game to predict as Oregon State will be approaching the halfway point in the season and will have a bye week on the horizon. It's also OSU's homecoming weekend and the first home Saturday Pac-12 matchup at Reser...
Additionally, the Beavers haven't played UCLA since 2019, and this will be the last matchup for the foreseeable future, which also adds intrigue to the contest.
It's a bit tough to project the Bruins this season, especially given that they're replacing so much production from a year ago, but given OSU's cohesiveness comparatively, this is a matchup that is not too intimidating in the confines of Reser Stadium...
All that being said, Oregon State will likely be favored in this contest and as long as they avoid looking ahead to the upcoming off week, this is a game they should win...
I like the Beavers by a pair of scores and Chip Kelly will drop his first-ever contest in Corvallis...
PREDICTION - Oregon State 41, UCLA 27
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