Dante said all the right things in the postgame that you would expect a leader to - shouldering blame and praising defense. Hopefully it’s a learning experience for everyone going forward!
Chip isn’t the one making wrong reads, dropping touchdown passes or whiffing on blocks
Agreed that coaches have work to do setting players up for success and they’re just as responsible for the loss but this could have been a 14-7 victory as well if our players executed.
About half time, "moral victory" was creeping into my lexicon. And there was a tendency to ascribe this loss to a bad day by the offense. But you do not perform in your first three games like UCLA did and then take the pipe continually like the offense showed all game. Oh sure, there were a lot of drops by the receivers and Dante did look a little spooked since the INT, but the sacks and short gains can be attributed to just playing against a superior defense. And the kid's a gamer; they all are.
In fact, the game was very entertaining -- even though it was a loss -- for seeing two very good defenses in operation here. Given the stink bombs that the previous years' defenses were (meant with respect, not malevolently), this year's "D" and the new coach are tremendous improvements. (So far.) It almost makes that goal line four-down stop v. SDS not seem like a miracle.
Nossir, there's a lot to take away from this that is good. The kid and the "O" will get their game back and, If the Bruins can build on this, they will turn out to be a respectable team. In the long run, it is always more enjoyable to see a team accept these things and improve as the season goes along.
Sorry to dump some of my rancid codger memories on you, but Prothro's team (oh boy, here he goes again) that lost to #1 MSU and then beat them in the Rose Bowl are one of my most satisfying UCLA FB memories.
One final note: the Ute coach electing to run out the clock at 14-7 was one of the most sportsmanlike things I have seen in a long time. So-o-o-o-o un-Notre-Dame-like. He proved his point; his kids played outstanding "D", scored enough points to win, and that was that. Don't know if he covered the spread; maybe some pissed off bookies out there.
Whatever.
..OK for now; it's back to gumming my zwieback, sipping my warm milk, and ogling the pretty nurses!
Completely agree Coach Whittingham was a class act at the end of the game. We commented on it here and also said (insert coach name here) who would have gone on to run up the score.
Thanks for the "boots on the ground" input re Utah. Sadly, in re your hope for The Chipster being sacked for pathetic achievement, the move to the Big 10 probably bought him a two-three year reprieve. Bad records in the first two years will be excused as some sort of "freshman/sophomore" quirk and this will be aided measurably by the increased income from the B10 involvement.
I fear our only hope will be either he gets bored and leaves or we reap an invigorated harvest of Midwest prospects who see in "The Hills of Westwood and the mighty seas below.." a lovely gridiron alternative to freezing their tuchuses off on some upper U. S. peninsula thrusting into Canada or the ice-adorned tundras of Nebraska and Iowa.
The wizards here can probably answer this better than I as they are long time vets from the old Bruins Nation blog but here goes...
(1) There was some speculation that he *inherited* the Oregon program from the two previous coaches, Rich Brooks and Mike Bellotti. I commend to you the Wiki entry for "Oregon Ducks Football" as the back story on these two folks reads like a Raymond Chandler novel. The two dragged the DUX up from the dumpster fire that they were -- but not without recruiting violations, "a pay-for-credit scandal, disclosure of an illegal travel fund, misuse of phone cards and criminal sexual abuse charges against Oregon football players". Brooks actually offered to resign but WAS REFUSED by the DUX prez.
(2) By the time The Chipster took over, there was a lot of slime on the DUX program but those two left the cupboard full for El Chippo. He stumbled a bit but managed to glue all the parts together for the phenomenal three seasons you saw.
(3) Chippie was then lured -- with the help of the NCAA hounding him for recruiting violations -- to the pros where he stunk up the barn with the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Flailing 49ers. Not enough Air Wick(tm) to dispel the aroma when he left those two places. As I recall, it was a pitchforks and torches mob that ran him out of The City of Brotherly Love.
(4) Then the siren call of the broadcaster's booth saw Kelly sit out coaching and do color for ESPN. It was then that Donut Dan and The Aiksterman globbed together a deal that landed him in Westwood where he apparently cultivated a catering biz* to go along with his part time FB coaching gig.
So there you have it! It's a sordid tale told with a ton of literary license but that's my story and I am sticking to it. As to your other questions, I dunno. I think UCLA is like one of those wives who refuse to leave an abusive husband. Again, Joe and The Greek Guy are the experts here and steeped in the contract lore. But I share your opinion as to our success in the "BO10". We're in for two years of being pasted from pillar to post. We're going to be the Washington State of that conference.
Ciao and kisses.
*The catering reference was the L.A.T.'s long ago article on Chip feeding the football team free range buffalo steaks, sauteed salmon eggs, mango frappes, and other exotic cuisine while he went 3-and-something in his first seasons. Also a wonderful read on a dark and stormy night.
You have little faith in Chip as UCLA coach ?!? I have none, zilch even. I closed the book on him a while back already and I said repeatedly, to the annoyance of a few of his apologists, that he is a retread and somehow managed to cash in big time for his brief moment of glory and triumph at Oregon. Somehow, even someone no less than Troy Aikman fell for it, as my friend war planner put it aptly. Of course he only coaches for his paycheck under the circumstances. A change is needed badly.
The outgoing chancellor knew it. Jarmond knew it even better. But they both chose to punt the ball and let the next chancellor deal with it. The extension granted Kelly last spring is not even an extension the way I perceived it and the way his apologists gloated. It is a reprieve, and I am glad my friend war planner used the word too to guy time to scout for another coach.
USC did the same with Helton when he obviously was floundering, failing and used the defeat of UCLA as reprieve to grant him a temporary stay as behind the scenes recruiting of Riley heated up.
Depressing memories indeed. The guy is a scumbag. He lived in Manhattan Beach back then and many residents in that community were either bruin fans or alums. To a person, they all considered him arrogant, snobbish and rude. But then he had his foot on Neuheisel's throat perennially. Just like now, we asked for it.
Far be it from me to support anything SC does, but I was at that game and Carroll was trying to run the clock out when Neuheisel called two timeouts (to try and get the ball back I guess)? That’s when Carroll called the play action bomb.
Yes, it was classless but the game was well in hand and I don’t understand what CRN was trying to prove. It only added to the embarrassment when we got scored on (again).
When Kelly was interviewed at halftime, the sideline reporter asked,”what he could do to help the offense?” His response, “we’re fine.” Do I sense denial? Is Kelly’s ego so massive because “many have called him offensive genius” has led him to believe it? Today, Kelly’s offense sucked. The defense kept them in the game.
I skipped the game today. My premonition said it might be bad. Reading all your comments, I am glad I did. I marvel all your support and insightful observation. Too bad one person ( you name it ) has let us down consistently. What can I say ?!? On the other hand, the thriller between Ohio State and Notre Dame elicited absolute chills down my spine. This will be the caliber of competition confronting UCLA next season. If we thought we have sustained ugly losses before, a brand new mid western chapter is awaiting us.
Big Ten overall is feverishly competitive from top to bottom. I am not say it is only Ohio State alone. But that Notre Dame game tells you how cut throat Big Ten football is. The toughness facing UCLA, if indeed Kelly standard is the norm in Westwood, will be unrelenting, palpable as soon as our players step on the field. They go to battle on fall Saturdays. We go to tailgate parties, reminisce among alums. Win or lose, it is an occasion to enjoy a vintage Southern California afternoon.
Donahue won. Kelly meandered. This is the difference. I retain fond memories of Donahue. Before he succumbed to cancer, we bumped into him and missus on a rare occasion when he felt good enough to stroll around main street in Newport Beach. As words spread about his sighting, people came up to greet him warmly, wish him well as some wiped away tears behind his back.
I would love flashbacks of him than if, god forbids, the Kelly mediocrity still haunts me when he is expected, as I fervently hope, to be gone within the next year or two.
No idea how our preseason non conference games prepares UCLA for conference games. Coastal Carolina, North Carolina Central and San Diego State suck. It showed yesterday.
It’s true that it has been a soft slate, but largely due to Michigan pulling out of a deal. Next year we’ve got LSU again, and then Georgia in the next 2 years, so should be some tough games in Non-Con.
I find it interesting that we were one dropped pass, one overthrown pass, and one very poor decision (first pass that was pick 6) away from beating the number 19 ranked team in the country yet we are no longer in the top 25. I understand we have yet to beat a solid team yet we are really comparable to Utah.
Actually, the defending Pac-12 champ Utes were ranked #11 prior to beating #22 UCLA. We'll see if the Bruins can bounce back from this tough road loss and fight their way back into the top-25 again, as the next 2 games are against #16 WSU and at #19 OSU. At least UCLA didn't get completely blown out and outclassed like #19 Colorado did against #10 Oregon. All of the hype generated by Deion Sanders couldn't hide the fact that his Buffs were overrated. The Oct. 28 game between UCLA and Colorado should provide further confirmation. Go Bruins!
If we had made those plays, we would have accepted in a win what we aren't willing to accept in a loss. We went into a hostile environment, with a true freshman QB, trying to develop the true freshman in game, and basically played an even game with the two time defending PAC 12 champs who haven't lost at home since 2020. I don't accept moral victories but I can recall so many road games in which UCLA hasn't been close to being competitive with Utah. Progress is frustratingly slow but I am still hopefully that sticking with Moore in tough times will develop him faster than sitting him. Lord knows the patience we had to have with DTR but he absolutely improved.
Although I may not be the strongest Chip supporter, I've never doubted his ability to secure higher end talent on the offensive side and get the individual pieces to work cohesively and eventually be lethal. I know Chip wanted to see Moore develop in game, but as Chip himself has said, we have a talented QB room and I don't know that I would have agreed with keeping the true freshman in a hostile environment and leaving him in despite overthrows, TOs and a lack of mobility. I think Schlee may have provided an answer to the loaded boxes Utah was showing and we needed a true dual threat QB to keep Utah's honest.
As far as the D, I love Lynn! Extend, extend, extend. Long way to go and lots of tests ahead, but so far, couldn't be more impressed the improvement by our defense.
I know it's a lot to expect that we play offense and defense at the same time, but I think we can get there-- hopefully before we're out of contention for the Pac-12.
I share your thoughts but I don't lay blame on one man. The problem with UCLA football is far deeper than that and much more systemic. When you look at Oregon and see that Rich Brooks, Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly, Willie Taggart, Mario Cristobal, Dan Lanning, etc. have all been very successful at Oregon, I can guarantee you that changing coaches every few years (Dorrell, Neuheisel, Mora, Kelly) will just make us feel hopeful and suck us in temporarily but that's about it. Heck, the administration has been doing this for decades because it works. But at Oregon, even Chip can go 46-7 and go to the CFP. Neuheisel can be successful and Colorado and Washington and win a national championship. but when he comes to UCLA, he loses 50-0 to $C. Like Rick said, we bring a knife to a gun fight. The hard truth is we are competing with the Notre Dames and Michigans for the limited number of high level football players that qualify for admission.
After reviewing the game a second time, four major plays could’ve changed the outcome. The dropped pass by the receiver in front of the end zone was a TD. Then, Moore missing three wide open receivers, without a defender around, most likely TD’s. The offensive line isn’t playing with any urgency & the offensive genius was put back in the bottle. This was a potential win despite not having a run game. Utah not having their top players, it demonstrates to us, Kelly’s Bruins can’t take advantage of the opportunities in front of them. So anytime I hear there may be an advantage for the bruins because of missing starters, don’t count on it, they still lose.
Dante said all the right things in the postgame that you would expect a leader to - shouldering blame and praising defense. Hopefully it’s a learning experience for everyone going forward!
Chip Kelly offensive genius pffft.
Chip isn’t the one making wrong reads, dropping touchdown passes or whiffing on blocks
Agreed that coaches have work to do setting players up for success and they’re just as responsible for the loss but this could have been a 14-7 victory as well if our players executed.
About half time, "moral victory" was creeping into my lexicon. And there was a tendency to ascribe this loss to a bad day by the offense. But you do not perform in your first three games like UCLA did and then take the pipe continually like the offense showed all game. Oh sure, there were a lot of drops by the receivers and Dante did look a little spooked since the INT, but the sacks and short gains can be attributed to just playing against a superior defense. And the kid's a gamer; they all are.
In fact, the game was very entertaining -- even though it was a loss -- for seeing two very good defenses in operation here. Given the stink bombs that the previous years' defenses were (meant with respect, not malevolently), this year's "D" and the new coach are tremendous improvements. (So far.) It almost makes that goal line four-down stop v. SDS not seem like a miracle.
Nossir, there's a lot to take away from this that is good. The kid and the "O" will get their game back and, If the Bruins can build on this, they will turn out to be a respectable team. In the long run, it is always more enjoyable to see a team accept these things and improve as the season goes along.
Sorry to dump some of my rancid codger memories on you, but Prothro's team (oh boy, here he goes again) that lost to #1 MSU and then beat them in the Rose Bowl are one of my most satisfying UCLA FB memories.
One final note: the Ute coach electing to run out the clock at 14-7 was one of the most sportsmanlike things I have seen in a long time. So-o-o-o-o un-Notre-Dame-like. He proved his point; his kids played outstanding "D", scored enough points to win, and that was that. Don't know if he covered the spread; maybe some pissed off bookies out there.
Whatever.
..OK for now; it's back to gumming my zwieback, sipping my warm milk, and ogling the pretty nurses!
Completely agree Coach Whittingham was a class act at the end of the game. We commented on it here and also said (insert coach name here) who would have gone on to run up the score.
Thanks for the "boots on the ground" input re Utah. Sadly, in re your hope for The Chipster being sacked for pathetic achievement, the move to the Big 10 probably bought him a two-three year reprieve. Bad records in the first two years will be excused as some sort of "freshman/sophomore" quirk and this will be aided measurably by the increased income from the B10 involvement.
I fear our only hope will be either he gets bored and leaves or we reap an invigorated harvest of Midwest prospects who see in "The Hills of Westwood and the mighty seas below.." a lovely gridiron alternative to freezing their tuchuses off on some upper U. S. peninsula thrusting into Canada or the ice-adorned tundras of Nebraska and Iowa.
Tamara,
The wizards here can probably answer this better than I as they are long time vets from the old Bruins Nation blog but here goes...
(1) There was some speculation that he *inherited* the Oregon program from the two previous coaches, Rich Brooks and Mike Bellotti. I commend to you the Wiki entry for "Oregon Ducks Football" as the back story on these two folks reads like a Raymond Chandler novel. The two dragged the DUX up from the dumpster fire that they were -- but not without recruiting violations, "a pay-for-credit scandal, disclosure of an illegal travel fund, misuse of phone cards and criminal sexual abuse charges against Oregon football players". Brooks actually offered to resign but WAS REFUSED by the DUX prez.
(2) By the time The Chipster took over, there was a lot of slime on the DUX program but those two left the cupboard full for El Chippo. He stumbled a bit but managed to glue all the parts together for the phenomenal three seasons you saw.
(3) Chippie was then lured -- with the help of the NCAA hounding him for recruiting violations -- to the pros where he stunk up the barn with the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Flailing 49ers. Not enough Air Wick(tm) to dispel the aroma when he left those two places. As I recall, it was a pitchforks and torches mob that ran him out of The City of Brotherly Love.
(4) Then the siren call of the broadcaster's booth saw Kelly sit out coaching and do color for ESPN. It was then that Donut Dan and The Aiksterman globbed together a deal that landed him in Westwood where he apparently cultivated a catering biz* to go along with his part time FB coaching gig.
So there you have it! It's a sordid tale told with a ton of literary license but that's my story and I am sticking to it. As to your other questions, I dunno. I think UCLA is like one of those wives who refuse to leave an abusive husband. Again, Joe and The Greek Guy are the experts here and steeped in the contract lore. But I share your opinion as to our success in the "BO10". We're in for two years of being pasted from pillar to post. We're going to be the Washington State of that conference.
Ciao and kisses.
*The catering reference was the L.A.T.'s long ago article on Chip feeding the football team free range buffalo steaks, sauteed salmon eggs, mango frappes, and other exotic cuisine while he went 3-and-something in his first seasons. Also a wonderful read on a dark and stormy night.
You have little faith in Chip as UCLA coach ?!? I have none, zilch even. I closed the book on him a while back already and I said repeatedly, to the annoyance of a few of his apologists, that he is a retread and somehow managed to cash in big time for his brief moment of glory and triumph at Oregon. Somehow, even someone no less than Troy Aikman fell for it, as my friend war planner put it aptly. Of course he only coaches for his paycheck under the circumstances. A change is needed badly.
The outgoing chancellor knew it. Jarmond knew it even better. But they both chose to punt the ball and let the next chancellor deal with it. The extension granted Kelly last spring is not even an extension the way I perceived it and the way his apologists gloated. It is a reprieve, and I am glad my friend war planner used the word too to guy time to scout for another coach.
USC did the same with Helton when he obviously was floundering, failing and used the defeat of UCLA as reprieve to grant him a temporary stay as behind the scenes recruiting of Riley heated up.
Wasn't it Pete Carroll who went for two point conversion on Rick Neuheisel ?
Worse. He called a play action bomb for a TD when he could have taken a knee and killed the clock.
Depressing memories indeed. The guy is a scumbag. He lived in Manhattan Beach back then and many residents in that community were either bruin fans or alums. To a person, they all considered him arrogant, snobbish and rude. But then he had his foot on Neuheisel's throat perennially. Just like now, we asked for it.
Far be it from me to support anything SC does, but I was at that game and Carroll was trying to run the clock out when Neuheisel called two timeouts (to try and get the ball back I guess)? That’s when Carroll called the play action bomb.
Yes, it was classless but the game was well in hand and I don’t understand what CRN was trying to prove. It only added to the embarrassment when we got scored on (again).
When Kelly was interviewed at halftime, the sideline reporter asked,”what he could do to help the offense?” His response, “we’re fine.” Do I sense denial? Is Kelly’s ego so massive because “many have called him offensive genius” has led him to believe it? Today, Kelly’s offense sucked. The defense kept them in the game.
I skipped the game today. My premonition said it might be bad. Reading all your comments, I am glad I did. I marvel all your support and insightful observation. Too bad one person ( you name it ) has let us down consistently. What can I say ?!? On the other hand, the thriller between Ohio State and Notre Dame elicited absolute chills down my spine. This will be the caliber of competition confronting UCLA next season. If we thought we have sustained ugly losses before, a brand new mid western chapter is awaiting us.
I assure you, the competition in the B1G is far better represented by Iowa, Nebraska or Purdue than Ohio State.
I’d be more concerned about USC, Oregon and Washington than anyone not named Ohio State, Michigan or Penn State.
Big Ten overall is feverishly competitive from top to bottom. I am not say it is only Ohio State alone. But that Notre Dame game tells you how cut throat Big Ten football is. The toughness facing UCLA, if indeed Kelly standard is the norm in Westwood, will be unrelenting, palpable as soon as our players step on the field. They go to battle on fall Saturdays. We go to tailgate parties, reminisce among alums. Win or lose, it is an occasion to enjoy a vintage Southern California afternoon.
I had flashbacks that Terry Donahue was calling the plays tonight. Run up the middle, run up the middle, run up the middle, and punt!
Donahue won. Kelly meandered. This is the difference. I retain fond memories of Donahue. Before he succumbed to cancer, we bumped into him and missus on a rare occasion when he felt good enough to stroll around main street in Newport Beach. As words spread about his sighting, people came up to greet him warmly, wish him well as some wiped away tears behind his back.
I would love flashbacks of him than if, god forbids, the Kelly mediocrity still haunts me when he is expected, as I fervently hope, to be gone within the next year or two.
No idea how our preseason non conference games prepares UCLA for conference games. Coastal Carolina, North Carolina Central and San Diego State suck. It showed yesterday.
It’s true that it has been a soft slate, but largely due to Michigan pulling out of a deal. Next year we’ve got LSU again, and then Georgia in the next 2 years, so should be some tough games in Non-Con.
These are the mediocre pre-season wins that keep Kelly employed. Pitiful, isn't it ?!? Steve Alford got his paycheck that way too.
I find it interesting that we were one dropped pass, one overthrown pass, and one very poor decision (first pass that was pick 6) away from beating the number 19 ranked team in the country yet we are no longer in the top 25. I understand we have yet to beat a solid team yet we are really comparable to Utah.
Actually, the defending Pac-12 champ Utes were ranked #11 prior to beating #22 UCLA. We'll see if the Bruins can bounce back from this tough road loss and fight their way back into the top-25 again, as the next 2 games are against #16 WSU and at #19 OSU. At least UCLA didn't get completely blown out and outclassed like #19 Colorado did against #10 Oregon. All of the hype generated by Deion Sanders couldn't hide the fact that his Buffs were overrated. The Oct. 28 game between UCLA and Colorado should provide further confirmation. Go Bruins!
Yes--- I can't see us getting blown out by anyone on our schedule this year, including $C
If we had made those plays, we would have accepted in a win what we aren't willing to accept in a loss. We went into a hostile environment, with a true freshman QB, trying to develop the true freshman in game, and basically played an even game with the two time defending PAC 12 champs who haven't lost at home since 2020. I don't accept moral victories but I can recall so many road games in which UCLA hasn't been close to being competitive with Utah. Progress is frustratingly slow but I am still hopefully that sticking with Moore in tough times will develop him faster than sitting him. Lord knows the patience we had to have with DTR but he absolutely improved.
Progress is more than frustratingly slow. It is, in fact, indomitably never realized and jarringly delusional under Chip Kelly.
If only Michigan State would steal Chip away from his 'beloved' UCLA (sarcasm) - not happening but a girl can dream.
Yeap ! You need to dream BIG even, LOL !!! Life is barren without dreams.
Although I may not be the strongest Chip supporter, I've never doubted his ability to secure higher end talent on the offensive side and get the individual pieces to work cohesively and eventually be lethal. I know Chip wanted to see Moore develop in game, but as Chip himself has said, we have a talented QB room and I don't know that I would have agreed with keeping the true freshman in a hostile environment and leaving him in despite overthrows, TOs and a lack of mobility. I think Schlee may have provided an answer to the loaded boxes Utah was showing and we needed a true dual threat QB to keep Utah's honest.
As far as the D, I love Lynn! Extend, extend, extend. Long way to go and lots of tests ahead, but so far, couldn't be more impressed the improvement by our defense.
I know it's a lot to expect that we play offense and defense at the same time, but I think we can get there-- hopefully before we're out of contention for the Pac-12.
Just wanted to shout out to ArmyBruin, gbruin, WarPlanner, Chen, Dimitri and all my other favorite Bruins.
Thanks for the all the fun, good times and respect. I'll miss interacting annually with you all in the coming years.
I share your thoughts but I don't lay blame on one man. The problem with UCLA football is far deeper than that and much more systemic. When you look at Oregon and see that Rich Brooks, Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly, Willie Taggart, Mario Cristobal, Dan Lanning, etc. have all been very successful at Oregon, I can guarantee you that changing coaches every few years (Dorrell, Neuheisel, Mora, Kelly) will just make us feel hopeful and suck us in temporarily but that's about it. Heck, the administration has been doing this for decades because it works. But at Oregon, even Chip can go 46-7 and go to the CFP. Neuheisel can be successful and Colorado and Washington and win a national championship. but when he comes to UCLA, he loses 50-0 to $C. Like Rick said, we bring a knife to a gun fight. The hard truth is we are competing with the Notre Dames and Michigans for the limited number of high level football players that qualify for admission.
After reviewing the game a second time, four major plays could’ve changed the outcome. The dropped pass by the receiver in front of the end zone was a TD. Then, Moore missing three wide open receivers, without a defender around, most likely TD’s. The offensive line isn’t playing with any urgency & the offensive genius was put back in the bottle. This was a potential win despite not having a run game. Utah not having their top players, it demonstrates to us, Kelly’s Bruins can’t take advantage of the opportunities in front of them. So anytime I hear there may be an advantage for the bruins because of missing starters, don’t count on it, they still lose.