Cal Football: 5 Questions for a UCLA Beat Writer

Bears need a win Saturday night over the Bruins at the Rose Bowl to secure bowl eligibility.

As Cal prepares to face UCLA on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, with bowl eligibility on the line, we spoke with veteran Los Angeles Times writer Ben Bolch, who covers the Bruins.

We began our 5 Questions dialogue by asking Bolch about the status of UCLA coach Chip Kelly, who was rumored to be on his way out, especially if the Bruins had lost to rival USC last Saturday.

That didn't happen - UCLA won 38-20 - and Bolch says in the video at the top of this story that his sources indicate Kelly never was in the doorway to being on his way out.

"I checked around and found out that was not the case," Bolch said. "No decision had been made at any point. Certainly there was pressure building and if we had seen something like a 50-0 USC victory over UCLA that could have been a tipping point.

"But there was never any point where he was basically just playing out the string."

Could that change if the Bruins, favored by 8.5 points this week, loses to Cal? Bolch shares what he believes.

Question No. 2:

Just like Cal, UCLA has used three different quarterbacks. Has that been the root of their issues on offense? And is Ethan Garbers at all established as the starter or is Kelly still hoping the freshman Dante Moore becomes the guy?

"I do think the quarterback shuffling, in retrospect, was a big issue for UCLA this season," Bolch explained. 

"I do think we are looking at a different season if Ethan Garbers was given maybe one or two more games, and then he very clearly would have been, to me, the guy for the rest of the season and we could very well be looking at a different trajectory for this entire season."

Question No. 3: 

UCLA’s defense has allowed fewer rushing yards and fewer rushing touchdowns than any team in FBS. Tell us about edge Laiata Latu and other players who make the Bruins so good against the run and how do you expect Cal’s Jaydn Ott to fare against a defense that has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 13 consecutive games?

"I certainly don't expect UCLA to hold Jaydn Ott to 3 yards, like they did to USC collectively last week," he said. "But I do think they're going to cause a lot of problems."

Bolch said the Bruins have injury issues among their interior defensive linemen, which could force some shuffling.

Question 4: 

What happened between the Arizona State game and USC that changed the Bruins so dramatically? The Bruins lost 17-7 at ASU two weeks ago and walloped USC 38-20 last week. Which UCLA team do you expect to see on Saturday? 

"I think we're going to see a team a lot closer to the one that throttled USC than the one that went completely splat against Arizona State," he said.

He said the QB spot with Garbers is more stabilized, but also that he expects the Bruins to emphasize the run game.

Question No. 5: 

This will be the final regular-season Pac-12 game before the conference splinters next season. How does the UCLA fan base feel about the move to the Big Ten and swapping games against Cal and Stanford for Michigan and Ohio State? 

"I think there's actually some excitement to see this new dynamic," he said. "Let's be honest, Cal and Stanford football have been down for a few years now. You flip that out with some Ohio State and Michigan and Penn State . . . I think there is some excitement."

Cover photo of UCLA coach Chip Kelly by Alex Gallardo, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo