I am neither happy nor sad. I'm sorry to say that I have become totally ambivalent about UCLA football. Winning or losing no longer registers with me. I religiously watch every game because it's UCLA, but it's like watching reruns of a boring and awful TV series. I honestly can't remember what year it was when I was last truly excited about UCLA's football team. It feels like it's been decades, and it probably is. Am I wrong in thinking UCLA football was good when typewriters and telephone booths still existed?
I'd comment on the game, but I've already put it out of my mind.
Gosh, I hope Cronin is cooking up something good. I need some UCLA joy.
I hear you. I admittedly was very sad about the game, and now, the season. But tonight, this sadness turned to numbness.
I love UCLA so much and my love affair began when I first walked on campus - I was in awe of the excellence and excitement that filled the air. I went on to earn a BA and an MBA from this magestic university, and with that the blue and gold became inextricably embedded in my heart.
So it's especially hard to face that year in and year out, I begin with renewed hope for Football only to have it fade into the 'rerun' you so aptly describe. I don't know exactly why I have this hope - it seems to invariably be fed by non-conference wins that turn out to be more like mirages.
Chip has not been a good UCLA coach. He is not even a mediocre UCLA coach at .500. He is not a good fit and the losses ultimately fall on him. I do not blame Dante, I blame the coaching.
I hope Jarmond makes an effort to find the right coach for the BIG or we are going to struggle BIG time.
So tonight I saw hope turn to sadness and then numbness. I will be here for the next game just to be with this community as I love the friends I have made here.
I do believe Cronin will need time to create team chemistry and flow, and instill his defense. But this team will succeed and could be truly great.
I stopped watching them altogether last season. I'd tune in for some highlights or perhaps watch a quarter or two just to confirm that the program is still floundering, which of course it is. Does anyone realize Kelly is still getting paid by the Eagles and 49ers and even Oregon in addition to UCLA! So, he's doing just fine at the expense of UCLA, their alumni and fanbase. In last night's game, I only tuned in at the end of the first half when Dante threw the pick-6. Then UCLA got the ball back with over a minute and Kelly decided he didn't want to try and drive down the field so he sat on his three timeouts and went limping into halftime. That really has to be deflating for a team, to end a half like that, even the announcers were curious as to why a coach would leave 3 timeouts on the board and do nothing, well, they just don't know Chip Kelly and his "Program". I feel sorry for the players though, they work their a** off only to be stuck with a loser coach and a losing football program. Sadly, Dante Moore made a mistake, he fell for the Chip Kelly sales job, which is all it is. Now he's getting beat up because Kelly can't supply an offensive line that can at least stand in front of a defensive player, let alone block them to protect the Quarterback. Oh well, as is the norm during this time of year at UCLA, let's get ready for the Basketball season.
I know that feeling all too well- today’s game was a very winnable one. The interception right before half time really put UCLA on a very complicated situation. It went from UCLA taking a 1 point lead at the half to UCLA being down 13 if I’m not mistaken. Then the defense, which is really much improved, gave the offense a chance to come back and again make it a close game and the offense couldn’t mustard a drive. I want to believe that we are a competent quarterback away from being a really good team. I know Moore is the future, and all these mistakes will eventually be corrected as he plays more, and gets more experience- but in every game UCLA has lost they’ve lost because they’ve shot themselves in the foot and missed clear cut chances to put a stranglehold on the game to win it.
Coming back your original comment, yea it seems like you’re watching the same end result time after time again. Personally, I am a 2005 alumi and I remember those teams were good defensively and they were challenged offensively. Then the last couple of seasons UCLA has been good offensively and pretty bad defensively. This season we’re back to being good defensively and not very good offensively. So i definitely share your feeling, i do hope that this year serves as a great experience for all the three parts of this team and next season with more experience at the quarterback position and more reps and practice for this defensive unit and special teams and some recruits UCLA can be better and competitive in the Big 10. I might be wrong but my general impression so far this season is that Chip Kelly is using it as some sort of ironing out the kinks for next season.
Hi Jim! I think the key ingredient missing for Dante is a great coach. If he had the right coach, I do not believe he would be making so many mistakes.
I wasn’t implying that Moore shouldn’t get the nod, we are like always “building for the future” and even though Schlee did a great job in the time he was in and he gave OSU a good run for their money and I will venture to say that if he wouldn’t have gotten injured he would have given UCLA the best chance to win last night, long term Moore is the better talent and hence why he gets the nod. The question I have for you is, in your expectation for the season, what were your expectations for this season? It was discussed here at the beginning of the season that a season were we could 8-4 or 9-3 would be looked at as good considering the lost of DTR and Charbonet and a freshman quarterback. I don’t think anyone here thought we’d go 12-0 and be playing for a championship. Don’t get me wrong I’d love for that to be the outcome of every season.
I'd love to give an answer, but it sure would be nice if Kelly called a passing play for Schlee so we could see what that looks like. Last season at Kent State, Collin did complete 59% of his passes for 2109 yards and 13 TD's, so he's got some ability to throw the ball, but it's hard to get an idea of what he can do against Pac-12 defenses if he's limited to being just a running back and a hand-off quarterback.
Although Dante Moore might be the future, there's nothing etched in stone that says it's imperative for him to start to continue to development. Winning programs are constantly replenishing their QB position with an elite freshman waiting on the sidelines to replace the elite draft-eligible starting QB.
In theory, Ethan Garber should have been the guy to step into the vacancy left by DTR, but unfortunately Ethan Garber is a bad QB, and that's on Kelly for not developing him nor having a plan to have a ready, experienced, and capable QB to start this season.
As for Moore, it's not like the future of the program is tied to him. The transfer portal has changed the player development process. If you're weak at a certain position, go out and bring in a transfer to fill the position. And that certainly holds true at QB. Pennix, Bo Nix, Rattler - all transfers into their current programs.
The only question is whether or not Kelly has enough sway to draw those experienced upper classman to the program. Personally I think not.
I agree--another winnable road game with the defense doing their best to at least avoid a blowout loss (like U$C suffered at ND). Even though another half still had to be played, the interception thrown by Dante Moore just before halftime was an absolute killer. You don't often see repetitive mistakes and lack of execution from players on elite teams. It really is no surprise that most of us possess similar negative feelings about the UCLA football program. With the previous AD gone, the remaining common denominator for the Bruins' continuing mediocrity and our seasonal frustration is Coach Chip Kelly. Seems the only coaching staff member who is worth their money this year has been D'Anton Lynn. Wonder if (and for how long) UCLA can retain him. At least we now have a better basketball program to count on for some excitement and hope. Go Bruins!
We had 287 yds rushing vs 166+3 ints passing. What am I missing? Do I really recall us passing on 4th and 1? We have a running game and a running QB. That floating duck Moore threw for an int was inexcusable. He doesn't respond well to pressure and makes bad choices. You have the so-called "NFL arm" Just chuck it out of bounds in the right direction!
A big part of the problem IMHO is also the offensive line - they are just not a strong cohesive unit at this point. And of course Dante needs a great coach that fits and understands his skills and talents. The fact that Dante had to tell Chip which plays were not working for him pretty much says it all.
It's hard when your highly-touted QB throws 3 picks in the 1st half - granted, on one of which his arm was hit as he threw, but on the other two he chucked it into coverage once and tried to throw across his body on the other - to put his team behind the 8-ball in a tough road environment against the most complete team he's played... but enough about Caleb Williams. :-)
The most disconcerting things about yesterday in Corvallis were, as others have pointed out, a 5-run : 9-pass ratio in the first quarter seems like the inverse of what should have been the plan in the game circumstances, which is especially puzzling given that Chip's offenses, from the "Blur" forward, have always been predicated on spreading the field to facilitate the run, and which rushing performance reinforced as the game went on... but also that the vastly-improved defense - and it is vastly improved - was beaten over the top/on deep seams 3 times in the 2nd half, which doesn't bode well for future matchups against the QBs left on the schedule. Is it fixable? It can be... not certain it will be...
D'Anton Lynn is 33. Give him a couple of years to learn the complete ins and outs of the college system, especially on the recruiting side. If the defense continues to look good, then boot out Kelly. D'Anton would be welcome to bring his dad and maybe a few of his NFL cohorts to revitalize this program.
I am neither happy nor sad. I'm sorry to say that I have become totally ambivalent about UCLA football. Winning or losing no longer registers with me. I religiously watch every game because it's UCLA, but it's like watching reruns of a boring and awful TV series. I honestly can't remember what year it was when I was last truly excited about UCLA's football team. It feels like it's been decades, and it probably is. Am I wrong in thinking UCLA football was good when typewriters and telephone booths still existed?
I'd comment on the game, but I've already put it out of my mind.
Gosh, I hope Cronin is cooking up something good. I need some UCLA joy.
I hear you. I admittedly was very sad about the game, and now, the season. But tonight, this sadness turned to numbness.
I love UCLA so much and my love affair began when I first walked on campus - I was in awe of the excellence and excitement that filled the air. I went on to earn a BA and an MBA from this magestic university, and with that the blue and gold became inextricably embedded in my heart.
So it's especially hard to face that year in and year out, I begin with renewed hope for Football only to have it fade into the 'rerun' you so aptly describe. I don't know exactly why I have this hope - it seems to invariably be fed by non-conference wins that turn out to be more like mirages.
Chip has not been a good UCLA coach. He is not even a mediocre UCLA coach at .500. He is not a good fit and the losses ultimately fall on him. I do not blame Dante, I blame the coaching.
I hope Jarmond makes an effort to find the right coach for the BIG or we are going to struggle BIG time.
So tonight I saw hope turn to sadness and then numbness. I will be here for the next game just to be with this community as I love the friends I have made here.
I do believe Cronin will need time to create team chemistry and flow, and instill his defense. But this team will succeed and could be truly great.
Go Bruins 💙💛
I spent seven years on campus and have that feeling, too, Tamara. You can't create good chemistry by losing.
💯
I stopped watching them altogether last season. I'd tune in for some highlights or perhaps watch a quarter or two just to confirm that the program is still floundering, which of course it is. Does anyone realize Kelly is still getting paid by the Eagles and 49ers and even Oregon in addition to UCLA! So, he's doing just fine at the expense of UCLA, their alumni and fanbase. In last night's game, I only tuned in at the end of the first half when Dante threw the pick-6. Then UCLA got the ball back with over a minute and Kelly decided he didn't want to try and drive down the field so he sat on his three timeouts and went limping into halftime. That really has to be deflating for a team, to end a half like that, even the announcers were curious as to why a coach would leave 3 timeouts on the board and do nothing, well, they just don't know Chip Kelly and his "Program". I feel sorry for the players though, they work their a** off only to be stuck with a loser coach and a losing football program. Sadly, Dante Moore made a mistake, he fell for the Chip Kelly sales job, which is all it is. Now he's getting beat up because Kelly can't supply an offensive line that can at least stand in front of a defensive player, let alone block them to protect the Quarterback. Oh well, as is the norm during this time of year at UCLA, let's get ready for the Basketball season.
I know that feeling all too well- today’s game was a very winnable one. The interception right before half time really put UCLA on a very complicated situation. It went from UCLA taking a 1 point lead at the half to UCLA being down 13 if I’m not mistaken. Then the defense, which is really much improved, gave the offense a chance to come back and again make it a close game and the offense couldn’t mustard a drive. I want to believe that we are a competent quarterback away from being a really good team. I know Moore is the future, and all these mistakes will eventually be corrected as he plays more, and gets more experience- but in every game UCLA has lost they’ve lost because they’ve shot themselves in the foot and missed clear cut chances to put a stranglehold on the game to win it.
Coming back your original comment, yea it seems like you’re watching the same end result time after time again. Personally, I am a 2005 alumi and I remember those teams were good defensively and they were challenged offensively. Then the last couple of seasons UCLA has been good offensively and pretty bad defensively. This season we’re back to being good defensively and not very good offensively. So i definitely share your feeling, i do hope that this year serves as a great experience for all the three parts of this team and next season with more experience at the quarterback position and more reps and practice for this defensive unit and special teams and some recruits UCLA can be better and competitive in the Big 10. I might be wrong but my general impression so far this season is that Chip Kelly is using it as some sort of ironing out the kinks for next season.
Which QB should get the experience in the remaining games? All we are playing for is a winning record, now.
My vote is Dante.
Good evening, Tamara. I think he's our best bet. We have a legacy as a passing team, especially against the Big 10.
Hi Jim! I think the key ingredient missing for Dante is a great coach. If he had the right coach, I do not believe he would be making so many mistakes.
I agree, he needs a good QB coach. Kelly got away with DTR being talented and self-contained.
I wasn’t implying that Moore shouldn’t get the nod, we are like always “building for the future” and even though Schlee did a great job in the time he was in and he gave OSU a good run for their money and I will venture to say that if he wouldn’t have gotten injured he would have given UCLA the best chance to win last night, long term Moore is the better talent and hence why he gets the nod. The question I have for you is, in your expectation for the season, what were your expectations for this season? It was discussed here at the beginning of the season that a season were we could 8-4 or 9-3 would be looked at as good considering the lost of DTR and Charbonet and a freshman quarterback. I don’t think anyone here thought we’d go 12-0 and be playing for a championship. Don’t get me wrong I’d love for that to be the outcome of every season.
After losing DTR and Charb, I thought we would be at least PAC competitive, 9-3.
I'd love to give an answer, but it sure would be nice if Kelly called a passing play for Schlee so we could see what that looks like. Last season at Kent State, Collin did complete 59% of his passes for 2109 yards and 13 TD's, so he's got some ability to throw the ball, but it's hard to get an idea of what he can do against Pac-12 defenses if he's limited to being just a running back and a hand-off quarterback.
Although Dante Moore might be the future, there's nothing etched in stone that says it's imperative for him to start to continue to development. Winning programs are constantly replenishing their QB position with an elite freshman waiting on the sidelines to replace the elite draft-eligible starting QB.
In theory, Ethan Garber should have been the guy to step into the vacancy left by DTR, but unfortunately Ethan Garber is a bad QB, and that's on Kelly for not developing him nor having a plan to have a ready, experienced, and capable QB to start this season.
As for Moore, it's not like the future of the program is tied to him. The transfer portal has changed the player development process. If you're weak at a certain position, go out and bring in a transfer to fill the position. And that certainly holds true at QB. Pennix, Bo Nix, Rattler - all transfers into their current programs.
The only question is whether or not Kelly has enough sway to draw those experienced upper classman to the program. Personally I think not.
Moore WAS a good Quarterback as well, before Kelly got to him. It only took the Chipster 6 games to ruin him.
I agree--another winnable road game with the defense doing their best to at least avoid a blowout loss (like U$C suffered at ND). Even though another half still had to be played, the interception thrown by Dante Moore just before halftime was an absolute killer. You don't often see repetitive mistakes and lack of execution from players on elite teams. It really is no surprise that most of us possess similar negative feelings about the UCLA football program. With the previous AD gone, the remaining common denominator for the Bruins' continuing mediocrity and our seasonal frustration is Coach Chip Kelly. Seems the only coaching staff member who is worth their money this year has been D'Anton Lynn. Wonder if (and for how long) UCLA can retain him. At least we now have a better basketball program to count on for some excitement and hope. Go Bruins!
Kelly hasn’t done anything really in ten years or so. I can’t think of a significant win at Philadelphia or UCLA…
Chip just needs another couple of years to get a nationally respected program on track.
He's had six years. SMH.
;)
Chip sucks! Best win this year was against Wazzu and Wazzu got killed by Arizona.
We had 287 yds rushing vs 166+3 ints passing. What am I missing? Do I really recall us passing on 4th and 1? We have a running game and a running QB. That floating duck Moore threw for an int was inexcusable. He doesn't respond well to pressure and makes bad choices. You have the so-called "NFL arm" Just chuck it out of bounds in the right direction!
A big part of the problem IMHO is also the offensive line - they are just not a strong cohesive unit at this point. And of course Dante needs a great coach that fits and understands his skills and talents. The fact that Dante had to tell Chip which plays were not working for him pretty much says it all.
It's hard when your highly-touted QB throws 3 picks in the 1st half - granted, on one of which his arm was hit as he threw, but on the other two he chucked it into coverage once and tried to throw across his body on the other - to put his team behind the 8-ball in a tough road environment against the most complete team he's played... but enough about Caleb Williams. :-)
The most disconcerting things about yesterday in Corvallis were, as others have pointed out, a 5-run : 9-pass ratio in the first quarter seems like the inverse of what should have been the plan in the game circumstances, which is especially puzzling given that Chip's offenses, from the "Blur" forward, have always been predicated on spreading the field to facilitate the run, and which rushing performance reinforced as the game went on... but also that the vastly-improved defense - and it is vastly improved - was beaten over the top/on deep seams 3 times in the 2nd half, which doesn't bode well for future matchups against the QBs left on the schedule. Is it fixable? It can be... not certain it will be...
Maybe we should offer Lynn the head coaching job and ask if Chip will run out his tenure as assistant OC or towel boy.
Outstanding. I was also thinking Lynn might be a great head coach. He has certainly turned the D around in one season. I prefer towel boy for Chip 🤣
D'Anton Lynn is 33. Give him a couple of years to learn the complete ins and outs of the college system, especially on the recruiting side. If the defense continues to look good, then boot out Kelly. D'Anton would be welcome to bring his dad and maybe a few of his NFL cohorts to revitalize this program.
Let's also keep in mind that Chip Kelly's buyout drops to zero at the end of the 2025 season. It will be a very Merry Christmas in 2025.
Don’t want to wait that long