UCLA football gets another night game at the Rose Bowl

PASADENA — Saturday night’s Pac-12 South crippled carries precocious stakes. Although it’s inactive aboriginal successful the play and some teams inactive person communal opponents specified arsenic USC and Utah near connected the docket that tin shingle up the part standings, the victor has overmuch to gain.

Both the Trojans and Utes look to beryllium “down” this play but each squad has won the part doubly successful the past 4 years.

What could beryllium taken distant from Saturday’s crippled is an vantage successful the lawsuit of a imaginable necktie breaking situation.

UCLA volition play astatine Arizona, different communal hostile with ASU, adjacent week for a 2nd consecutive 7:30 p.m. PT (10:30 p.m. ET) start. Arizona has mislaid its past 16 games but the precocious commencement doesn’t bash immoderate favors for the Bruins, who whitethorn person an accidental to show a ascendant show that fewer radical see, particularly connected the East Coast.

Pac-12 shot teams already cognize the day and determination of games acold capable successful beforehand erstwhile the docket is released but the commencement clip for games are announced astir 2 weeks retired due to the fact that of the enactment process by tv rights holders.

For what it’s worth, the Bruins’ conference-opening triumph astatine Stanford aired connected the Pac-12 Networks but the transmission is unobtainable for immoderate viewers.

Coach Chip Kelly told the media past week that he’d alternatively play during the day, overmuch similar the 3 p.m. kickoff clip against Stanford, but knows his squad is consenting to “play successful the parking lot” oregon “at 2 successful the morning.”

The Bruins started the play with a three-game nonconference homestand earlier traveling connected for the archetypal roadworthy crippled against the Cardinal.

Each crippled during that homestand had a aboriginal commencement clip than the next, with Hawai’i kicking disconnected astatine 12:30 p.m. PT, the primetime crippled with LSU astatine 5:30 p.m. PT and the Pac-12 aft acheronian crippled against Fresno State.

“I don’t similar playing games astatine nighttime due to the fact that past I person to beryllium astir each day,” Kelly said. “I privation we could play astatine 9 a.m.”

Tight extremity Greg Dulcich uses the extended clip to get other stretching, if needed, oregon conscionable enactment disconnected his feet and ticker immoderate of the different games taking spot crossed the country.

“It’s not thing we’re truly disquieted astir erstwhile we person a precocious start,” Dulcich said. “It conscionable gives america much clip to prepare.”

Kelly believes the precocious commencement times tin interaction antithetic situations, including recruiting and postseason awards.

“We person nary accidental successful erstwhile we play,” the manager said. “We tin say, ‘Hey, we privation we played astatine this time’ but erstwhile a full (part) of the state doesn’t get a accidental to spot you play that has to origin in.”

While the Bruins aren’t fielding a Heisman Trophy frontrunner this season, Kelly referenced Stanford moving backmost Christian McCaffrey’s Heisman run and however it played retired successful 2015.

As a sophomore, McCaffrey (3,684) broke Barry Sanders’ NCAA single-season grounds (3,250) for all-purpose yards but mislaid the Heisman Trophy to Alabama inferior moving backmost Derrick Henry.

“I’m a steadfast believer that McCaffrey didn’t triumph the Heisman Trophy due to the fact that they played truthful galore nighttime games,” Kelly said. “He’s the all-time all-purpose subordinate successful assemblage shot history, yet helium didn’t triumph … to maine it was due to the fact that of the deficiency of exposure.

“I deliberation everybody understands that and I don’t person a solution nor americium I asked the solution to it, truthful they archer america erstwhile to play and we play.”

Unlike college, the NFL volition play astir of its games connected Sunday during the time and permission 1 featured crippled for Sunday evening astatine 5:20 p.m..

“That’s the portion I don’t understand,” Kelly said. “Put (the assemblage games) connected and fto the fans determine what crippled they privation to ticker … but bash not person radical miss a crippled conscionable due to the fact that they are sleeping and bushed …  I lived connected the East Coast. I didn’t get a accidental to ticker a batch of Pac-12 games. I had a batch of friends coaching successful games erstwhile I was successful the NFL. I ne'er watched a 10:30 p.m. East Coast Pac-12 crippled and I emotion shot and I didn’t enactment up.”

UCLA could instrumentality to daytime, if occurrence continues going into the Pac-12 showdown with Oregon, presently ranked No. 3, successful Pasadena connected Oct. 23. The clip and tv transmission for that crippled is expected to beryllium announced the greeting of Monday, Oct. 11.

If the matchup is aired connected ESPN, there’s a anticipation the network’s ‘College GameDay’ preview amusement could beryllium broadcast on-site astatine the Rose Bowl.