Just when you think Chip Kelly might be out of the woods after beating USC for the Los Angeles City Championship he drops a 33-7 stinker at home in the Rose Bowl to Cal. Granted, those Cal players had all the motivation in the world to win as they needed it to become bowl eligible but the loss gives UCLA a 4-5 conference record this year even though they are bowl eligible with a 7-5 overall record. Against a team whose defense has improved dramatically over last year the Golden Bears were able to pick up 13 points alone on four Bruin turnovers in addition to another TD on a Jaydn Ott 100 yard kick-off return to the house. Cal took a 3-0 lead on a field goal after intercepting a Dante Moore pass on the 14th play of the Bruin’s opening drive and never relinquished it. Up 6-0 after the first, 20-to-7 at the break and then adding another 13 in the 4th while holding UCLA scoreless the entire second half.
The Golden Bear’s Freshman QB Fernando Mendoza connected on 19-of-30 for 178 yards, 2 TD’s, and 2 picks with both TD’s going to Junior WR Jeremiah Hunter who picked up 101 of the team’s 178 yard total in just eight receptions. Sophomore WR’s Trond Grizzell and Mavin Anderson along with Freshman TE Jack Endries combined for eight other receptions for most all of the remaining yards in the air. On the ground, Sophomore RB Jaydn Ott and Freshman Justin Williams-Thomas combined for 31 carries and 127 yards without a rushing TD. For the Bruins, Freshman QB Dante Moore was 23-of-38 for 266 yards, 1 TD and 2 picks with Ethan Garbers also coming in for a spell connecting on 7-of-9 for 43 more yards. On the ground the Bruins never found the end zone with Junior RB Carson Steele and Sophomore TJ Harden combining for 22 attempts and 100 yards. But after adjusting for others as well as Dante Moore’s negative 34 yards on 11 attempts, UCLA ended up with just 71 yards on 36 attempts—2 yards per carry. Cal’s defense was surprisingly much more aggressive in this one compared to UCLA and picked up six sacks and eight tackles for loss against one and six for the Bruins.
UCLA had more 1st downs, 23-17; had more passing yards, 309-178; more total yards, 380-to-302, converted their fourth down attempts half the time and had the ball just two seconds less than Cal. But they also had more turnovers and couldn’t convert in the red zone. Their first half consisted of an interception, a missed field goal, a fumble, two punts, a turnover on downs, and a single score. The second half was more of the same minus the score. After averaging 34 points in seven of their first eight games, they’ve averaged 8 in three of their last four. The writing was probably on the wall when their starter Ethan Garbers was injured on the Bruin’s first drive of the game and his replacement was intercepted on his very first throw. Kelly had this to say afterwards; “The team prepared, but we didn’t execute and it just kind of snowballed. It’s a combination of different things. Sometimes it’s a protection issue, sometimes it’s a route, sometimes the quarterback’s not putting the ball where it needs to be put. To be in rhythm, I think, is what we really need to do a better job of . . . I think we left them on the field too much, offensively and special teams-wise [by] turning the ball over. I think our defense played well, but we can’t leave them out there as long as we left them out there and that’s what happens when you turn the ball over.” As pointed out by the AP in their Recap for ESPN; “The two teams have played every year since 1933, but with conference realignment it is anyone’s guess when they might meet again.” Both teams now await a bowl bid.