UCLA Football Injury Report: Star Bruins Defender Carted To Locker Room

Chip Kelly's stellar defense just got a little weaker.

Your UCLA Bruins football team is having an unexpectedly robust day against the USC Trojans at the Coliseum, during the two clubs' rivalry week meeting.

Unfortunately, one of the critical components of UCLA's elite defense may not be available the rest of the way. 

Star Bruins defensive lineman Jay Toia, was carted off the field at the top of the second quarter, per James H. Williams of The Orange County Register, wearing tape over his right cleat.

The Los Angeles Times' Ben Bolch praises Toia as having been the top defensive lineman on the interior through the program's entire 2023 season to date. If he really is done for the day, it could spell big problems for one of the best defenses in the entire college game, against a lethal USC offense that seems to finally be building some momentum late into the second quarter.

A 74-yard Brenden Rice touchdown, thrown from a pressured Caleb Williams in the pocket, quickly helped put the Trojans right back into the game just seconds after Toia departed the field. The score narrowed the current game margin to just one touchdown, 14-7.

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