UCLA Defense Can't Stop Ducks as Bruins Lose, 45-30
This game wasn't really that close.
Today’s game was a complete victory by the Ducks over the Bruins.
The UCLA defense could not stop Bo Nix or the Oregon offense this afternoon as the Bruins fell to the Ducks, 45-30. The Bruins allowed the Ducks to score on their first seven possessions including six touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the UCLA offense had trouble finding the end zone and ended up settling for three field goals instead.
As if that’s not enough, Chip Kelly and staff were also outcoached by Dan Lanning and his staff.
It started out with the teams trading scores. It began with each team settling for an early field goal and the game was tied 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The teams traded touchdowns to start the second. With the score tied 10-10, Oregon drove 75 yards to retake the lead, 17-10.
That’s when the Bruins got outcoached.
Lanning caught the Bruins off-guard with a surprise onside kick which the Ducks recovered and turned into another touchdown to go up by 14 points, 24-10.
UCLA settled for a field goal on their next drive to cut the Ducks’ lead to 11, 24-13, but the Bruins would never get any closer that that for the remainder of the game.
In fact, it really only got worse.
Oregon added one more touchdown with less than a minute to go and, down 31-13 now, Kelly had DTR take a knee to end the half rather than try a Hail Mary before the break.
When play resumed after the half, UCLA stalled on the first drive of the half and Kelly opted for the Bruins’ third field goal of the game to close the gap down to 15 points, 31-16.
Of course, the Ducks responded with what else? Another touchdown and the score was now 38-16.
The Bruins finally got into the end zone again with 13:56 to go in the game. If the UCLA defense could have gotten a stop or a turnover, it might have swung the momentum back in favor of the Bruins.
Instead, they gave up yet another Oregon touchdown to fall behind, 45-23.
UCLA finally forced an Oregon punt with 6:09 left and the offense got into the end zone on the following drive, but the onside kick from Nicholas Barr-Mira went out of bounds after traveling about eight yards and Oregon was able to run down the clock without giving the ball back to the Bruins.
Zach Charbonnet carried 20 times in the game for 154 yards and a touchdown and DTR was 27 of 39 for 259 yards and two touchdowns, but Oregon’s Bo Nix picked apart the UCLA pass defense to throw for 289 yards and five touchdowns.
UCLA returns home to the Rose Bowl next Saturday to face Stanford at 7:30 pm PT.
Go Bruins.
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Two great offenses against two meh defenses. They went for TDs, we settled for FGs, and they won. It looked like Ducks realized that defenses weren't going to stop anything, so that onsides kick was a genius play, giving them one extra offensive possession. It was the play that changed the game tbh. After this play, it was obvious that Ducks had no respect for our D, and honestly, why should they? I heard people say this wasn't embarrassing, but what do you call it when a player on the sidelines who isn't even playing gets called for unsportsmanlike conduct? Pretty f'n embarrassing, and that lands fully on the Chipster, since head coach sets the culture. Hopefully we can win out and meet these Ducks again on a neutral field and hopefully get a different ending.
Either this is a wake up call for Chip to recruit, or this is as good as the Bruins ever will be. A good Bruin team was bewitched, bothered, bewildered and baffled, not to mention steamrolled and embarrassed, by a more gooder Duck team.
I think we've seen peak Chip.