The team was led by fourth-year head coach Chip Kelly and competed as members of the South Division in the Pac-12 Conference.

Entering this season, Nike became the new apparel sponsor for the team, replacing former supplier Under Armour, and the Bruins' football uniforms bore the Jordan Brand.

[1] The Bruins finished their regular season with an 8–4 overall record, and accepted a bid to the Holiday Bowl, where they were due to face North Carolina State.

In his fourth season at UCLA, head coach Chip Kelly earned his first nonconference victory and first season-opening win with the Bruins after defeating Hawaii, 44–10.

Running back Zach Charbonnet, a fresh transfer from Michigan, ran for 106 yards and three touchdowns in his UCLA debut.

Charbonnet carried the ball six times and scored on runs of 21, 47 and again on 21 yards, helping the Bruins establish a 31–3 lead early in the second quarter.

[7] UCLA evened the score 7–7 in the first quarter after Thompson-Robinson threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to tight end Greg Dulcich,[6] who had three catches for 117 yards in the game.

Midway into the fourth quarter, Thompson-Robinson threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Philips to make it 38–20,[6] virtually sealing the game.

[7] The win over LSU was the first time in 13 years that a Pac-12 team beat a ranked opponent from the Southeastern Conference since the Bruins defeated Tennessee in 2008.

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener passed for 455 yards and threw the winning touchdown with 14 seconds left in the game to upset the Bruins 40–37.

[10] The Bulldogs regained the lead after Haener's 19-yard touchdown pass to Erik Brooks put them ahead 33–30 with 2:55 remaining.

The Bulldogs' attention to the run opened up one-on-one coverage in their pass defense, contributing to Philips' seven receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee began finding his receivers, throwing a 19-yard touchdown to Elijah Higgins in the second quarter.

UCLA lost 42–23 to Arizona State, as both teams vied for a 2–0 conference record and sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 South.

[17] After Sun Devils quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Pearsall, the two reconnected on their following for a 54-yard score,[15] giving Arizona State their first lead of the game with 2:44 remaining in the half.

[17] The Sun Devils fumbled a punt return before the half ended, which the Bruins recovered, allowing Nicholas Barr-Mira to kick a field goal as time expired.

[17] Early in the third quarter, Arizona State extended its lead to 32–23 on a 49-yard touchdown run by Rachaad White and a two-point conversion.

[18] UCLA played most of the game without injured safeties Quentin Lake and Kenny Churchwell III, which forced walk-on Alex Johnson into action.

Bruins coach Kelly credited the Sun Devils for taking advantage of their depth issues at safety.

[19] Brown and Charbonnet became the first pair of Bruins to rush for a 100 yards in the same game since Paul Perkins and Brett Hundley in 2014 against Colorado.

After saying earlier in the week that he was "not really even close to 100%", he said his struggles were not related to injury, and Kelly credited the Wildcats' defense.

[19] Offensively, Arizona scored just one touchdown in six possessions in Bruins' territory, including three in the red zone.

Thompson-Robinson had three touchdowns and freshman cornerback Devin Kirkwood had an interception late in the game to beat Washington, 24–17.

[21][22] Then with 4:50 remaining, Kirkwood recovered for his first career interception after the Huskies' Rome Odzune was open for a potential touchdown.

The Huskies tied the game at 17 on a fourth-and-goal one-yard run by quarterback Dylan Morris in the second half.

On the Ducks next possession, Anthony Brown threw an interception but it was negated due to an offsides penalty on UCLA.

The second half started with Oregon driving down the field, and scoring a touchdown giving them their first lead of the game at 21–17.

Oregon’s Anthony Brown ends up forcing another interception, giving UCLA the ball and a chance to win the game.

DTR would get hurt on this ensuing possession, forcing backup Ethan Garbers to be the hero for UCLA.

UCLA dominated their rivalry game at crosstown foes Southern Cal, 62–33, en route to re-claiming the coveted Victory Bell trophy.