In Dorrell's fifth season at UCLA, with 20 returning starters and a team of his own recruits, hopes were high for the Bruins in 2007. After starting the season with a couple of wins over Stanford and BYU, and achieving a No. 11 AP Poll ranking, however, UCLA stumbled against an injured, winless, and unranked Utah Utes team, 44–6. Four weeks later, Dorrell's Bruins fell again; this time 20–6 to an unranked, winless Notre Dame team. The Bruins did, however, post wins against seemingly more difficult PAC-10 opponents, including a No. 10 Cal team. However; the bad taste of losses to teams the Bruins were favored to beat (including an embarrassing 27–7 loss to Washington State) raised questions about Dorrell's play-calling and ability to motivate his players.