UCLA Bruins head coach Chip Kelly. Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA could be a legit national title contender, but where are the fans?

After back-to-back wins over ranked teams, undefeated UCLA is one of college football's best stories. Perhaps it's even a national title contender. At 6-0, all Chip Kelly’s team is missing are fans.

There was a time when the Bruins' success wouldn't be a shock, but the team hasn't won more than eight games in a season since 2014. Even as USC lost its status as an elite program over the last decade, UCLA was still an afterthought in Los Angeles. Kelly's group has a chance to change that.

QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson looked like a darkhorse Heisman Trophy contender in UCLA's wins over Washington and Utah, and the Bruins have scored at least 40 points in five of their six games this season. 

Whether they can sustain this success isn't certain. The defense has allowed more than 30 points in three of UCLA's past four games. The odds that it holds up on the road on Saturday against an Oregon team that has scored at least 40 points in five consecutive games aren't great. 

With the way the rest of the Pac-12 has played, though, you'd have to believe double-digit wins are a strong possibility. UCLA looks like it has an offense capable of keeping up with USC's, and the Bruins' running game could push right through the defenses of Stanford, Arizona State, Arizona and California. 

Kelly already has his team bowl-eligible. Just a 4-2 finish would give UCLA its best season in eight years.

All that's missing, to this point, are the fans. Only 27,143 fans attended UCLA's opener against Bowling Green at the Rose Bowl, setting a record-low for the storied venue. 

Even as the program has won games and faced tougher opponents, the stadium hasn't filled up. Images from Saturday's win over No. 11 Utah showed tens of thousands of empty seats. 

While 6-0 is the best start UCLA could hope for, the program apparently has to do something more than winning if it wants to attract fans.

More must-reads:

TODAY'S BEST
Celtics legend provides update after gruesome finger injury
Bulls hire former NBA head coach as top assistant
Chiefs move on from young running back
20-year MLB veteran working out, unsure about playing future
USA Hockey names HC for 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Olympics
Key Knicks forward ruled out for Game 7 vs. Pacers
Pacers' Pascal Siakam leads team to Game 6 win vs. Knicks
Watch: Matt Duchene's 2OT winner sends Stars to conference final
Scottie Scheffler shoots improbable 66 after warming up for PGA Championship in a jail cell
Report: Tua Tagovailoa away from Dolphins amid contract chatter
Nuggets star has worrying comment about latest injury
Paul Skenes makes incredible Wrigley Field history in second-career MLB start
Giants rookie CF to undergo season-ending labrum surgery
Yankees' Juan Soto reacts to Hal Steinbrenner contract talk
Late goal sends Panthers to Eastern Conference Finals
Ex-teammate of Shohei Ohtani placed bets with same illegal bookmaker as interpreter 
Former Rams first-round pick retires from NFL after 11 seasons
Insider provides major injury update on Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis
Watch: Bruins strike first in Game 6 with incredible backhand goal
Dodgers make series of moves involving notable players

Want more sports news?

Join the hundreds of thousands of fans who start their day with Yardbarker's Morning Bark, the best newsletter in sports.