If Chip Kelly hadn’t shown himself to be so stubborn over the past two years, some Bruin fans might think that DTR’s absence due to contact tracing might just make him UCLA’s version of Wally Pipp.

That’s because the Bruins’ offense has looked good with Chase Griffin running it — and Griffin has proven to be an accurate passer.

In the first half of tonight’s game, Griffin was 9 of 13 for 96 yards with one TD pass.

But the passing game has almost been an afterthought compared to the Demetric Felton Show. Felton already has 20 carries for 134 yards and one score on the ground.

The most noticeably absent thing from tonight’s game has been Bruin turnovers. There weren’t any in the first half, unless you consider Kelly’s decision to go for it on fourth and one from UCLA’s 25 on the Bruins first drive a turnover. That bad coaching decision resulted in Arizona’s only touchdown four plays later from the UCLA three-yard line. The lack of turnovers has been responsible for the Bruins domination since that Wildcat touchdown.

In fact, UCLA finished the half scoring 20 consecutive points. On the Bruins’ first scoring drive, they drove 62 yards on ten plays, but were forced to settle for a field goal. A little later, they drove 52 yards on nine plays with Griffin throwing a 16-yard pass to Brittain Brown to put UCLA ahead, 10-3.

Arizona’s next drive ended when the defense dropped backup quarterback Will Plummer for a loss on fourth and one. The Bruins took over on the Arizona 43 and, six plays later, Felton plunged in from the one.

UCLA’s final drive of the half was an 81-yard drive that took 4:11 off the clock, but the drive stalled on the Wildcat 11-yard line and Chip Kelly showed he isn’t always inflexible when he sent out Nicholas Barr-Mira for another field goal to end the half with the Bruins up, 20-7.

Meanwhile, the UCLA defense has taken care of business, starting with Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell. The Bruins paid Gunnell back for torching them last season on the very first play from scrimmage when Bo Calvert knocked him into the turf and appearing to injure Gunnell’s shoulder.

While UCLA hasn’t sacked Plummer yet, the Bruin defense had two tackles for loss and two QB hurries in the first half. Overall, they held the Wildcats to just 152 yards in the half.

Listen to the Game With TMB!

The TuneIn player won’t embed here on Substack, but you can open another tab to listen to Josh Lewin and Matt Stevens call this morning’s game rather than having to listen to Aaron Goldsmith and Brady Quinn on Fox. So, be sure to right-click on it so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below. Listen to today’s game online.

Join your fellow Bruin fans discussing today’s game below.

This is your Arizona Wildcats at UCLA Bruins 2nd half thread.


Go Bruins!!!

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