UCLA Football: Chip Kelly Offers Frank Review Of Defense Under Interim DC Ikaika Malloe

UCLA's defense came to play on Saturday despite missing multiple players.

Prior to the UCLA Bruins bowl game on Saturday against Boise State, the Bruins were forced to scramble to get their coaching staff in order. Former defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn left the program to join the rival USC Trojans, leaving a big hole for the Bruins.

However, UCLA responded and found a way to get the job done in the bowl game. The defense had two sacks on the day and was able to hold the Broncos' offense in check for the most part.

Bruins head coach Chip Kelly praised interim defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe for how the defense played. It wasn't easy to take over as quickly as he did, but the defense got the job done.

“I thought our defense actually played well in the first half. We just missed a couple of tackles. But they were where they were supposed to be. The runs were fit the right way. The long screen pass they had – we had a couple shots at him [but] we didn’t get him down. Give credit to the running back for Boise. It was a pretty good run by him."

Per Chip Kelly via UCLA Communications

UCLA took control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring Boise State 21-0. The defense looked very similar to what we have all come to know over the season, and it helped propel UCLA to a win.

"But we felt confident when we were in the locker room at halftime that everything that happened in the first half, it was us. It was missed tackles on defense and penalties on the offensive side of the ball. We felt that if we can clean that up, that we were poised to break out in the second half and that’s what happened.”



Per Chip Kelly via UCLA Communications

The defense led the way once again for this UCLA squad, and it resulted in their first bowl win since the 2015 Alamo Bowl. They can now head off into the offseason, feeling a little better about how the season ended.