The UCLA football program is currently a dumpster fire and getting worse. Coach Kelly (who Troy Aikman got involved in the decision to hire him in the first place) has been an absolute flop. There are zero (national or even Pac-12) championship hopes possible with this coach at UCLA. His weak non-conference schedule this season was intended to cover up for his equally weak roster. And even if the students had been on campus, the Rose Bowl would still be mostly empty, with the administration trying to come up with useless incentives to fill more seats. Haven't felt this negative about a UCLA coach since Alford...
I'll defend the non-conference schedule as not being Kelly or UCLA's fault. As originally designed, it was a smart non-conference: two easier opponents and a marquee game. Unfortunately, that marquee game got cancelled, as Michigan dropped out at the last minute, leaving UCLA scrambling to find a replacement which is hard to do these days on short notice. Hence the addition of Alabama State this year and NC Central next year.
Anyway, not really Kelly's fault. Everything else, however....
I would have loved seeing Zach Levine get more playing time at PG instead of Balford. He's such a talented NBA player; I feel he got shortchanged by Salford during his time at UCLA.
LOL Yeah, I get you :-) I think a fully healthy Charbonnet will bring back some excitement to UCLA football, though. That LB we acquired from Hawaii, Muasau, has done enough to make me excited to watch him in future games, as well.
Only 1 game was scheduled within the last few years to make up for Michigan backing out. I hate Chip but no, the non conference schedule wasn't made to cover up for his weak roster. The other two games were scheduled before Chip was hired.
Unfortunately, there is no excitement left in year 5 of Chip Kelly's tenure which is leading to the attendance drop. The fan base was told to give Chip time to develop players and to be patient. I think the fanbase has been extremely patient and the result on the field is the team he has "recruited" and developed. This seems like the best Chip can do here. I was at Saturday's game (my cousin had a ticket for me) and it was not a lot of fun to watch live.
I will admit I was so happy when the school initally hired Chip. I thought we were going to be off and running like USC is this year with Lincoln. Time to reset, the school, players/students and fans deserve better.
Even with the benefit of hindsight, it's hard to blame Aikman and Wasserman for bringing Kelly to UCLA. Remember, UCLA was essentially in a bidding war with Florida for Kelly, who was considered the biggest available name on the market and a guy who would be a surefire success back in college. And even despite the problems, it's still clear Chip is one of the best offensive minds in the sport - he's going to terrorize the country as Alabama's OC for the next five years, just FYI.
Because Chip's goal is to be an OC? Thanks for the FYI.
Re bidding war. I do remember. Both programs were delusional until either Florida came to its senses, or Chip's representatives played UCLA for a better deal.
Re best offensive mind in sports. I'm not very smart or knowledgeable, so I religiously read the Monday Morning QB and the Eye Test (recommended!) in hopes of learnin' something. I cannot recall reading a column lauding Chip's brilliance, but I do remember oftentimes reading of his questionable play calling, use/misuse/underuse of players, poor clock management (shades of Jimbo!), and more criticisms.
Re playoff hunt down the road.
Just as Bruins tried to warn Colorado about a Dorrell hire, perhaps we should warn UCF and USF about the reality.
Sorry I'm so feisty. Feeling a bit keyboard warrior-ish and out of patience. I should shut my trap and stick to my GG feed.
Yeah, I don't think I've been entirely fair to Chip from an offensive standpoint, so let me be upfront on this one. The offensive system as currently designed is brilliant. The problems are that of talent and playcalling. The problem as I see it is that Kelly coaches as if he's still in the NFL and there isn't a huge drop-off in personnel, so he can keep calling the same plays regardless of who is in the game. Also, as the head coach as well as the playcaller, it means his worst impulses in playcalling are uninhibited. That's why I think he would end up doing really well at an Alabama where he'd have access to that talent (without having to recruit it) and would be kept in check by Saban.
I commented this in another threat about Mora having better attendance than Chip. The average fan doesn't know Chip from Mora and doesn't care about the coach. They care about whether we are competitive. Mora had Hundley and when he left tha transitioned right into Rosen. Jonathan Franklin turned into Paul Perkins, and we had some great tight ends and good receivers too. Those were fun teams, even if not very good. Always felt we had a chance Hundley or Rosen could go off and light up a top 10 team. Don't have that same feeling with DTR or any of the other players Chip has recruited.
I had high hopes for DTR this year. Thought the free year of eligibility would give him a huge edge experience wise. But this is his ceiling. He's an average college QB with who has the ability to make things happen with his legs. Yawn. What we have on the roster is not going go be an upgrade next year either.
This is a 2-10 or 3-9 team that will go 6-6 or 7-5 due to the weak schedule. Kelly has been terrible at talent acquisition. Who has he recruited out of HS that is a star? DTR was Mora. Kaz Allen is Kelly, but as well as he’s played this year I don’t think he’s headline material. As Dimitri has pointed out, the portal is full of good G5 players, or ok P5 players, but not a lot of true stars. We really need a reset, and the next coach will have to recruit his @$$ off. I’m hoping the finances allow us to ditch Kelly this year. Anyone know what the buyout is now? Also, I think Kelly is a great offensive mind, he just doesn’t have the attitude or mentality to be a HC, especially when it comes to recruiting.
I don't like how that video was cut. I'm pretty sure the players do that water spray and dance during the 8 Clap after every win. I'd like to see the mood of the locker room on Sat before and after that tradition. I'll bet it was different, but right now the national narrative is all about clowning UCLA Football, and we've admittedly brought a lot of that on ourselves.
Great article, DD. Attendance is such a complicated issue with so many factors playing a role these days that it seems nearly impossible to fix in its current setting. Thankfully, Guerrero signed a mere 30 year lease with the Rose Bowl, so maybe we can expect something better in 2042. FML.
I've been banging the drum for an on campus stadium since that original BN article in 2011 https://www.bruinsnation.com/2011/11/17/2521154/attention-dan-guerreros-replacement-fix-uclas-football-facilities-Part-5 It's a shame that the old BN comments are gone because there was overwhelming support for the principle, if not for overcoming the actual logistics necessary to make it happen. There were the usual confederacy of intellectually lazy and closed minded people who whined about parking and traffic and tailgating space and the ridiculous NIMBYs with their sightlines and said it will never happen. Saying "no" and then doing nothing is such an easy road.
And I agree that it will probably never happen but that is only because the massive institutional support, which has never been U.C.L.A.'s strong point unless it involves a money-making hotel apparently, won't overcome the roadblocks. Maybe Troy's tweet lights a fire though. And could you imagine how great it would be if it did...? Think of the potential. Think of the campus spirit. Think of a full stadium on Saturdays. Think of the the game day environment. Think of the revenue. Think of the identity.
Chip gotta go the sooner the better. Time to face the music. With this schedule anything less than 10 wins is a fail.
The UCLA football program is currently a dumpster fire and getting worse. Coach Kelly (who Troy Aikman got involved in the decision to hire him in the first place) has been an absolute flop. There are zero (national or even Pac-12) championship hopes possible with this coach at UCLA. His weak non-conference schedule this season was intended to cover up for his equally weak roster. And even if the students had been on campus, the Rose Bowl would still be mostly empty, with the administration trying to come up with useless incentives to fill more seats. Haven't felt this negative about a UCLA coach since Alford...
I'll defend the non-conference schedule as not being Kelly or UCLA's fault. As originally designed, it was a smart non-conference: two easier opponents and a marquee game. Unfortunately, that marquee game got cancelled, as Michigan dropped out at the last minute, leaving UCLA scrambling to find a replacement which is hard to do these days on short notice. Hence the addition of Alabama State this year and NC Central next year.
Anyway, not really Kelly's fault. Everything else, however....
At least Alford had some exciting players.
One of the most exciting, of course, he benched for his kid -_-
I would have loved seeing Zach Levine get more playing time at PG instead of Balford. He's such a talented NBA player; I feel he got shortchanged by Salford during his time at UCLA.
LOL Yeah, I get you :-) I think a fully healthy Charbonnet will bring back some excitement to UCLA football, though. That LB we acquired from Hawaii, Muasau, has done enough to make me excited to watch him in future games, as well.
Only 1 game was scheduled within the last few years to make up for Michigan backing out. I hate Chip but no, the non conference schedule wasn't made to cover up for his weak roster. The other two games were scheduled before Chip was hired.
Unfortunately, there is no excitement left in year 5 of Chip Kelly's tenure which is leading to the attendance drop. The fan base was told to give Chip time to develop players and to be patient. I think the fanbase has been extremely patient and the result on the field is the team he has "recruited" and developed. This seems like the best Chip can do here. I was at Saturday's game (my cousin had a ticket for me) and it was not a lot of fun to watch live.
I will admit I was so happy when the school initally hired Chip. I thought we were going to be off and running like USC is this year with Lincoln. Time to reset, the school, players/students and fans deserve better.
we just don't have the players to get excited about.
Wasn't Trying on the Search Committee that honed in on this imposter despite all of the red flags?
Even with the benefit of hindsight, it's hard to blame Aikman and Wasserman for bringing Kelly to UCLA. Remember, UCLA was essentially in a bidding war with Florida for Kelly, who was considered the biggest available name on the market and a guy who would be a surefire success back in college. And even despite the problems, it's still clear Chip is one of the best offensive minds in the sport - he's going to terrorize the country as Alabama's OC for the next five years, just FYI.
and then probably have UCF or USF in the playoff hunt in like 2029.
Because Chip's goal is to be an OC? Thanks for the FYI.
Re bidding war. I do remember. Both programs were delusional until either Florida came to its senses, or Chip's representatives played UCLA for a better deal.
Re best offensive mind in sports. I'm not very smart or knowledgeable, so I religiously read the Monday Morning QB and the Eye Test (recommended!) in hopes of learnin' something. I cannot recall reading a column lauding Chip's brilliance, but I do remember oftentimes reading of his questionable play calling, use/misuse/underuse of players, poor clock management (shades of Jimbo!), and more criticisms.
Re playoff hunt down the road.
Just as Bruins tried to warn Colorado about a Dorrell hire, perhaps we should warn UCF and USF about the reality.
Sorry I'm so feisty. Feeling a bit keyboard warrior-ish and out of patience. I should shut my trap and stick to my GG feed.
*Troy* not Trying. Autocorrected.
Yeah, I don't think I've been entirely fair to Chip from an offensive standpoint, so let me be upfront on this one. The offensive system as currently designed is brilliant. The problems are that of talent and playcalling. The problem as I see it is that Kelly coaches as if he's still in the NFL and there isn't a huge drop-off in personnel, so he can keep calling the same plays regardless of who is in the game. Also, as the head coach as well as the playcaller, it means his worst impulses in playcalling are uninhibited. That's why I think he would end up doing really well at an Alabama where he'd have access to that talent (without having to recruit it) and would be kept in check by Saban.
Chip has proven that he cannot make in-game adjustments, let alone half-time adjustments. IMO that is not make him a brilliant offensive coach.
Goodness, the shocking news about Jalen Hill puts what's truly important into perspective.
I commented this in another threat about Mora having better attendance than Chip. The average fan doesn't know Chip from Mora and doesn't care about the coach. They care about whether we are competitive. Mora had Hundley and when he left tha transitioned right into Rosen. Jonathan Franklin turned into Paul Perkins, and we had some great tight ends and good receivers too. Those were fun teams, even if not very good. Always felt we had a chance Hundley or Rosen could go off and light up a top 10 team. Don't have that same feeling with DTR or any of the other players Chip has recruited.
I had high hopes for DTR this year. Thought the free year of eligibility would give him a huge edge experience wise. But this is his ceiling. He's an average college QB with who has the ability to make things happen with his legs. Yawn. What we have on the roster is not going go be an upgrade next year either.
This is a 2-10 or 3-9 team that will go 6-6 or 7-5 due to the weak schedule. Kelly has been terrible at talent acquisition. Who has he recruited out of HS that is a star? DTR was Mora. Kaz Allen is Kelly, but as well as he’s played this year I don’t think he’s headline material. As Dimitri has pointed out, the portal is full of good G5 players, or ok P5 players, but not a lot of true stars. We really need a reset, and the next coach will have to recruit his @$$ off. I’m hoping the finances allow us to ditch Kelly this year. Anyone know what the buyout is now? Also, I think Kelly is a great offensive mind, he just doesn’t have the attitude or mentality to be a HC, especially when it comes to recruiting.
One more thing, it’s great for the players to have fun and enjoy the experience, but the locker room celebration was cringeworthy for me.
I don't like how that video was cut. I'm pretty sure the players do that water spray and dance during the 8 Clap after every win. I'd like to see the mood of the locker room on Sat before and after that tradition. I'll bet it was different, but right now the national narrative is all about clowning UCLA Football, and we've admittedly brought a lot of that on ourselves.
The buyout was zero in January 2022, but Jarmond gave Chip Kelly a new contract. LMAO.
Great article, DD. Attendance is such a complicated issue with so many factors playing a role these days that it seems nearly impossible to fix in its current setting. Thankfully, Guerrero signed a mere 30 year lease with the Rose Bowl, so maybe we can expect something better in 2042. FML.
I've been banging the drum for an on campus stadium since that original BN article in 2011 https://www.bruinsnation.com/2011/11/17/2521154/attention-dan-guerreros-replacement-fix-uclas-football-facilities-Part-5 It's a shame that the old BN comments are gone because there was overwhelming support for the principle, if not for overcoming the actual logistics necessary to make it happen. There were the usual confederacy of intellectually lazy and closed minded people who whined about parking and traffic and tailgating space and the ridiculous NIMBYs with their sightlines and said it will never happen. Saying "no" and then doing nothing is such an easy road.
And I agree that it will probably never happen but that is only because the massive institutional support, which has never been U.C.L.A.'s strong point unless it involves a money-making hotel apparently, won't overcome the roadblocks. Maybe Troy's tweet lights a fire though. And could you imagine how great it would be if it did...? Think of the potential. Think of the campus spirit. Think of a full stadium on Saturdays. Think of the the game day environment. Think of the revenue. Think of the identity.
Yup. there's always hope....
And isn't that a microcosm of U.C.L.A. Football?