UCLA Football: Chip Kelly Blames Lack Of Prep For Shocking Upset Loss To ASU

A new low for the Bruins

What happened last night was real, UCLA Bruins fans. A 2023 season that was deemed promising, with a much-improved defense and an offense run by an offensive mastermind, has turned into a nightmare, and last night was the final nail in the coffin. 

Your Bruins got upset by the Arizona State Sun Devils, 17-7, at the Rose Bowl in front of their home crowd. Although UCLA out-gained the Sun Devils in total yards (300-250) and rushing yards (183-74), that wasn't enough for the Bruins to escape with the win. 

There's no sugarcoating it; this loss was terrible, and head coach Chip Kelly didn't hesitate to put the sole blame on himself and his coaching staff for their putrid performance. 

Chip Kelly on his message to team after game: "We told them it was on us as coaches, we didn’t do a good enough job to prepare those guys to play this football game."

— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) November 12, 2023

The UCLA offense struggled mightily with third-string quarterback Collin Schlee at the helm. Schlee completed only 11 of his 18 pass attempts for 117 yards, one touchdown, zero interceptions, and one fumble loss he recovered. 

The Bruins struggled all night to convert on third and fourth downs from their opponent's one-yard line, particularly in the second quarter. 

It's no secret that Kelly has been a disappointment in his time as head coach for the Bruins. He was brought in six years ago to take the Bruins over the top, and yet they have digressed in a multitude of ways. Just when you think they have it all figured out, they hit their fans with this type of performance that reminds them he is not the guy for the job and that maybe his mojo is long gone. 

The players lost the game, yes, but the performance by his coaching staff and himself was unacceptable. Schlee clearly wasn't the guy for the job, and you chose to keep Dante Moore and Ethan Garbers on the bench and instead bring in Chase Griffin to throw for three passes and complete none of them? 

The Bruins are in shambles, and if their regular season ends in a loss to the now 7-4 USC Trojans, changes should be on the horizon for Bruins. 

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