GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Rose Bowl (80,616) - Pasadena, Calif.
Kickoff Time: 4:00 p.m. PST
Television: ESPN (Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, Allison Williams)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG College): AM 1150/ 97.3 FM Josh Lewin (play-by-play),Matt Stevens (analyst), Wayne Cook (sideline)
Sirius/XM Ch. 81
UCLA (0-0) will open the 2018 season by hosting Cincinnati (0-0) in the Rose Bowl on September 1 at 4:00 p.m., PT. The game will be televised by ESPN. The Bruin IMG Radio Network will broadcast the contest, which will also be aired over Sirius/XM, 97.3 FM, uclabruins.com and tunein.com and the TuneIn App. This will be the Bruins' first meeting with Cincinnati.
The Bruins are 65-29-5 all-time in season openers. It will be the second straight campaign in which UCLA has started the season at home (last year defeated Texas A&M, 45-44, in Rose Bowl). The last time that happened was in the 2008 (win over Tennessee) and 2009 (win over San Diego State) seasons. The Bruins own victories in their last six season openers played at home (2017 - Texas A&M, 2015 - Virginia, 2013 - Nevada, 2009 - San Diego State, 2008 - Tennessee, 2006 - Utah) and in 12 of the last 13 season openers played at home (2004 loss to Oklahoma State, 2002 win over Colorado State, 2000 win over Alabama, 1999 win over Boise State, 1998 win over Texas, 1995 win over Miami, 1994 win over Tennessee). Bruin teams have won 10 straight non-conference games played in the Rose Bowl.
First-year head coach Chip Kelly was named UCLA's head football coach on Nov. 25, 2017. Kelly owns a collegiate record of 46-7 compiled in four seasons as the head coach at the University of Oregon (2009-12). During that span, his Duck teams captured first place or a share of first in the North Division of the conference (three outright conference championships 2009-2011) and four BCS bowl games. Kelly guided Oregon to appearances in a National Championship Game (2010), two Rose Bowls (after 2011 and 2009 seasons) and the Fiesta Bowl following the 2012 season. He also has served as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers (2016) and the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15). Kelly was named the 2009 and 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, 2010 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, 2010 Walter Camp Coach of the Year, 2010 Sporting News Coach of the Year, 2010 AFCA Coach of the Year Award and 2010 Associated Press Coach of the Year.
Be sure to download the UCLA Bruins Mobile App to your device, free of charge (download here). The official app of UCLA Athletics allows fans to receive in-game stats and live updates during events. Fans can also sign up to receive push notifications about gameday promotions, game times, live scoring and more. Fans can shop for UCLA gear with one click in addition to getting breaking news from UCLA Athletics. When searching iTunes or Google Play, use the term "UCLA Bruins" for more direct access.
THE WATCH LIST
• UCLA went 6-0 while playing in the Rose Bowl in the 2017 season. The last time the Bruins had registered a perfect mark at home was in 2005 (6-0). Perfection in the Rose Bowl was also achieved in the 1987 (6-0) and 1985 seasons (5-0, including Rose Bowl game win).
• S Adarius Pickett is the leading returning tackler with 85 stops (18th in P12 with 6.8 avg.), CB Nate Meadors topped the team with 9 pass break-ups last season, which was tied for 12th in the P12.
• WR Theo Howard has caught a pass in each of his last 16 straight games. He hauled in a career-high 11 receptions in last year's game vs. USC. Howard's 56 catches last season were the 16th-most in school single-season annals.
• The Bruins own a September record of 14-4 over the past five seasons -- 2017 (3-2), 2016 (2-2), 2015 (4-0), 2014 (3-0), 2013 (2-0).
• Position player starts leaders: CB Nate Meadors - 23, OL Andre James - 20, S Adarius Pickett - 17, OL Michael Alves - 13, LB Josh Woods - 12, WR Theo Howard - 11. The longest starting streak belongs to James who has opened the last 20 games, Alves and Meadors are next with 13 straight starts each.
• TE Caleb Wilson made 38 catches in five games last season for an average of 7.6 catches per game. The final NCAA stats from 2017 list only three players who finished the year with a higher average number of catches per game.
• UCLA's roster has the fourth-highest percentage of underclassmen in the nation according to a pre-season survey of FBS schools: 76.7% Illinois (78/102); 75.2% Appalachian State (88/117); 72.1% Cincinnati (80/111); 71.7% UCLA (76/106); also has the third fewest number of upperclassmen: 24 - Illinois, 29 - Appalachian State, 30 - UCLA, 31 - Cincinnati.
• Record Watch: Kicker JJ Molson enters the season ranked tied for 10th on the all-time Bruins made field goal list (29); Molson is also 20th on the all-time school list for career scoring (163 pts); Darnay Holmes is tied for 14th in career kickoff returns (33).