With UCLA Head Coach Chip Kelly not having made a final decision on QB’s between Jr. Ethan Garbers and Freshman Dante Moore, both played in the Week-1 home opener at the Rose Bowl against Coastal Carolina. Garbers started both the 1st and 3rd periods connecting on 10-of-17 for 121 yards, 1 TD, and 2 interceptions. Moore, Kelly’s first five-star recruit at UCLA, came into the game in the 2nd Qtr and 4th Qtr completing 7-of-12 for 143 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 interception. Coastal Carolina, a Division 1 FBS school out of the Sun Belt Conference, is coming into the year having been ranked in and out of the AP Top-25 over the last three years—finishing 14th in the final 2020 poll. Their offense is under a new coaching staff and they lost a lot in the transfer portal from a defense that actually wasn’t even good last year. It is expected that their success depends in a big way on returning Senior QB Grayson McCall who in this game connected on just over 60% of his passes for 271 yards, 1 TD, and 2 interceptions.
Neither team scored on the ground although the Bruins certainly were able to move the chains picking up 153 yards on 31 attempts—an almost 5 yard average per carry—compared to 56 yards on 34 attempts for the Chanticleers. UCLA scored on their first possession of the game on a 7 play 78 yard drive and 21 yard TD pass from Garbers to WR Carson Ryan to go up 7-0 after a successful PAT. UCLA would take over again after Coastal Carolina’s missed field goal attempt on their first possession of the game, but squandered the opportunity with a Garber interception deep in the red zone leading to a field goal by the Chanticleers 16 plays and 75 yards later. The Bruins would score one more time before the break on a 14 yard pass by Dante Moore to Carson Steele to go up 14-3 before another field goal by Coastal Carolina with time running out in the period to make it 14-6 at the half.
Aided by a UCLA interception and a 9 play 75 yard drive to open the 3rd Qtr the Chanticleers were able to get within one at 14-13 on a 9 yard Grayson McCall to Sam Pinckney TD pass and hold UCLA scoreless in the third. But on a huge play after a missed Coastal Carolina field goal Moore would connect with Michael Sturdivant on the 1st play from scrimmage for a 62 yard pass and run to the house to put the Bruins up 21-13 and would add three more after a Chanticleer interception leading to a UCLA field goal. After holding Coastal Carolina to a four-and-out on their next possession UCLA Place Kicker RJ Lopez would connect on another field goal, this one from 47 yards out with well under four minutes left in the game to give us our final score of 27-13. Four plays later the Chanticleers last chance to try and come back would disappear on a Gabriel Murphy sack leading to a Grayson McCall fumble at the CCU 44 yard line with less than 2.5 minutes left in the game.
It wasn’t pretty but the Bruins got it done and UCLA’s Freshman 5-star QB Dante Moore looked pretty good in his very first college football game. Considering the continuity that Kelly seemed to enjoy with Dorian Thompson-Robinson at the helm it wouldn’t surprise me to see Moore named the starter sooner rather than later. UCLA heads south to meet an always dangerous San Diego State this coming Saturday.