College football: 10 teams that could be the next Georgia

The Jim Mora era was a strange period in UCLA football history. Mora arrived and rejuvenated a Bruins program that failed to win more than seven wins in a season under Rick Neuheisel, winning 29 games in his first three seasons. The Bruins quickly became the solid No. 2 recruiter in the Pac-12 behind crosstown rival USC, and landed more than their fair share of five-stars, including elite quarterback prospect Josh Rosen in 2015.

But Mora could never develop that talent into a consistent winner. After frequenting the Top 15 of both the national polls and recruiting rankings from 2013-15, the Bruins fell flat in 2016, finished 4-8 and snapped a string of five straight bowl bids. After a 5-6 start in 2017, and with Chip Kelly available as a coaching free agent, Mora was fired.

Kelly reportedly chose the Bruins over Florida, which demonstrates how good the UCLA job is. California is obviously one of the most talent-rich states in the country, and Kelly has connections there from his time at Oregon. And, though his reputation as an offensive genius took a hit in the NFL, Kelly still has a sterling X’s and O’s reputation at the college level, so there’s reason to be optimistic he can capture the magic that helped Oregon post an incredible 46-7 record during his tenure.

It’s never easy to turn a program around in one year, and UCLA picked up the worst possible schedule for it by landing Washington, Oregon and Stanford in the cross-division draw, as well as a trip to Oklahoma in Week 2. But when great talent meets great coaching, it’s possible.