2007 UCLA Bruins Football Team - Pre-Season

Pre-Season

See also: 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings#Preseason polls

The UCLA Bruins had been ranked highly in the preseason polls, despite their mediocre 7-6 record in 2006, largely because they returned 20 starters in 2007. They had been predicted to finish 3rd in the Pac-10, behind the nation's #1 Southern California as well as California.

Quarterback Ben Olson, who began the 2006 season as the starter, again began the season with the starting job.

Jay Norvell joined the coaching staff as the new offensive coordinator. He replaced Jim Svoboda, who was fired by head coach Dorrell after the offense received much criticism for not performing up to expectations in 2006. Norvell was the offensive coordinator for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the previous three years, where they ran the West Coast offense very successfully. Following the 2007 season, Norvell was hired by the University of Oklahome.

DeWayne Walker returned as the defensive coordinator after a fabulously successful 2006 season, in which the Bruins vastly improved their defense. They ranked highly in several national defensive categories, such as rushing defense (9th, and 1st in the Pac-10) and total defense (33rd). Their crowning achievement came when they held the USC Trojan offense to only a touchdown in beating their rivals, 13-9.