PASADENA, Calif. – After three frustrating seasons at UCLA, the tide is starting to turn for the Bruins under coach Chip Kelly.
His 38-27 win over LSU No. 16 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday fell annoying in Las Vegas, but he shouldn’t have had it. It was a compelling performance that, along with bad performances around the Pac-12, established the Bruins as a serious candidate for the conference title.
“There may be people surprised around here,” Kelly said. “No one was surprised in our locker room because of the preparation they did this week.”
Before last week’s 44-10 win over Hawaii, the Bruins were 0-6 under Kelly in non-conference games. And while that victory was important, it was played against a small crowd and had little national importance.
Beating LSU is different.
Although the Tigers come out of a disappointing 5-5 season, they still have less than two years to go before the end of the 2019 season with a dominant performance to win the national title. UCLA finished this season 4-8.
In a drastic reversal of fortune, UCLA has almost certainly played in the national rankings, while LSU is likely to give up. It’s not that Kelly cares about these things.
“I don’t care where you’re ranked and … what are we, in August or September? It really doesn’t matter,” he said. “I think the important thing is for these guys to know, you don’t have to write a ranking for these guys. They know they’ve played really well tonight. They also know that no one cares on Monday. So be it. That’s what it’s talking to other people, but not to us. “
Offensively, UCLA showed an impressive balance between running and passing. Runners Zach Charbonnet (117 yards) and Brittain Brown (96 yards) had positive demonstrations, while quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson presented some key throws (9 of 16, 260 yards, 3 TD).
“I’m proud of this team. We knew we could do it all the time,” Thompson-Robinson said. “We didn’t hear the noise, we blocked all of that and we played each other tonight.”
The loss represents a consecutive loss in LSU’s first season since winning the national title.
“Viouslybviamente, a hard night. We didn’t act like we were supposed to at LSU,” coach Ed Orgeron said. “It’s my responsibility. I told the team. Viously, obviously, we’ll look at it schematically, where we need to improve.
“A game doesn’t define a season, but we understand it was a disappointment for our fans and I take responsibility for it. We have to improve.”