Ad Disclosure
UCLA reaches mutual agreement to cancel future matchups vs. Georgia and Auburn
By Paul Harvey
Published:
UCLA is canceling a pair of future home-and-home series against SEC opponents as the Bruins prepare for life in the Big Ten. On Wednesday, the Bruins announced that mutual agreements have been reached to cancel home-and-home matchups against Georgia and Auburn.
Originally, the Bruins would face Georgia in the Rose Bowl in 2025 before a trip to Athens in 2026. The series against Auburn was to begin at the Rose Bowl in 2027 with a visit to Auburn in 2028.
UCLA was quick to announce replacement opponents to fill the void. Instead of heading to the East Coast, the Bruins are adding a pair of former Pac-12 opponents to the schedules across 2025-2030.
UCLA will open the 2025 season against Utah in Pasadena before heading to Salt Lake City in 2030. A 4-game series against Cal was also announced with the first game coming in 2026, and UCLA will also host UC Davis in 2027 and 2029.
Announcing some future schedule changes — including additions of a couple familiar faces.
➡️: https://t.co/mMRThsaPPz #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/RYdrTaSWJJ
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) July 10, 2024
At first glance, some fans may characterize this as UCLA attempting to dodge the SEC, similar to the way that Lincoln Riley and USC tried to get out of the season-opening matchup against LSU set for this year. However, a quick look at the schedule and UCLA’s future travel burden paints a clearer picture of the issues at play.
USC trying to avoid the Tigers made little sense from a logistical standpoint. That game is set for Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, a short trip down the road for Riley’s Trojans.
On the other hand, UCLA can stock up on frequent flyer miles in 2024 with road trips to Hawai’i and LSU in nonconference play before also heading to the East Coast in Big Ten play to face Penn State and Rutgers. The Bruins also head to the middle of the country in November to face Nebraska.
RELATED: This summer is a great chance to get your feet wet in Daily Fantasy Sports! SDS is here to help you get started with our curated list of the best DFS apps.
Replacing the future SEC series simply makes sense with the increased travel UCLA will continue to encounter in future seasons. In 2026, the Bruins will now make nonconference road trips to Cal and Nevada as opposed to a trip to Athens. That helps counterbalance conference road trips to face Maryland, Michigan and Minnesota.
Taking the 2028 road trip to Auburn off the board currently gives UCLA a nonconference visit to Cal and a home game against Hawai’i to go with Big Ten visits to Nebraska, Penn State and Rutgers across different time zones.
While it’s fun to live in a world where every team is scared of the SEC, that claim does not hold as much merit when you consider the travel UCLA will be faced with on a normal basis moving forward.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
