What’s Bruin: Who’s Going to Beat the Bruins?

It’s a bit of a slow time for UCLA sports these days, with winter break underway and the college sports world slowing down for the holidays (what is a "bowl game?"), but we have a few tidbits for you Bruin fans this morning.

Following their win against Ohio State in Las Vegas on Saturday as part of the CBS Sports Classic, Gary Parrish at CBSSports.com wonders if the Bruin offense will just run away from everyone this season.

So now the Bruins are first in 2-point percentage (62.8) and third in 3-point percentage (43.9) with a real chance to finish first in both. And if you're wondering the last time a college team led in each of those categories, the answer seems to be ... never. Samford was second in 2-point percentage and first in 3-point percentage in 2005. But I can't find any evidence than any team has ever led in both.

"We dictate our pace and just wear people down," explained Bryce Alford. "Teams can have a good game plan against us. But our top seven or eight guys are all high-basketball-IQ guys, extremely smart guys. So we're going to figure out what they're taking away and then figure out a way to get around it."

Which brings me back to my initial question.

When are these Bruins going to lose?

A ha. I have been wondering the same thing, just too afraid to say it out loud.

Kyle Bonagura at ESPN wisely throws Bruin readers a Lonzo Ball reference before going into his review of UCLA’s 2016 football season.

Here’s the quick version: The Bruins started the season with a Heisman Trophy candidate, Josh Rosen, at quarterback and were the consensus favorites in the Pac-12 South, but failed to reach a bowl when the requirement to do so was just five wins. Their 4-8 record was the result of a dismal offense under first-year -- and since-fired -- coordinator Kennedy Polamalu that featured one of the worst rushing attacks in the country. The offensive ineptitude wasted one of the Pac-12’s best defenses.

I can’t blame you if you skip all season-review articles in the coming weeks.

The UCLA women’s basketball team dropped their second game of the season to #6 South Carolina. The Bruins only two losses have come against top ten teams.

Lastly, not UCLA specific but of interest to college football fans, Bill Connelly at SBNation ranks each conference according to his S&P+ rankings.

The conference at the top is probably not who you were expecting to see; the Pac-12 comes in at fourth in his overall rankings.

Happy Monday, folks.

GO BRUINS.