UCLA Bruins 2016 football schedule: Texas A&M opener could define season

What are the UCLA Bruins capable of in 2016? Do they have the ability to make the leap and become a national title contender? Can they finally get back to the Rose Bowl by winning the Pac-12 for the first time in decades? Or does another bizarre season lie ahead?

Many of those answers could be dissected in UCLA’s season opener in College Station, when the Bruins take on a transitioning but always dangerous Texas A&M squad. A victory there could be huge for leaping UCLA into the national discussion. But it’s not the only non-conference test they face—after battling UNLV at home, a road trip to Provo to face BYU is next on the agenda.

UCLA then draws their most favorable Pac-12 schedule in years. They’ll face Stanford early rather than later, so they’ll get a really good shot to end their futility against the Cardinal. After that comes the Arizonas, Washington State in Pullman, and a home date with Utah. All of these are winnable games, but quite dangerous if the Bruins don’t bring their A-game.

UCLA then draws the bottom-dwellers in Colorado and Oregon State before the rivalry matchup with USC, and then Cal on the road to finish things off. This is a 7-2/8-1 Pac-12 type schedule if everything breaks right.