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Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins person won back-to-back nonconference games to commencement the season, pursuing the 38-27 triumph implicit 16th-ranked LSU connected Saturday.
It was the 2nd of a three-game homestand earlier opening Pac-12 Conference play connected the roadworthy against Stanford connected Sept. 25.
The brace of victories to commencement the play helps enactment UCLA diversion manager Martin Jarmond’s program to alteration the communicative astir Bruins and return to an “elite” level presumption connected a nationalist scale.
UCLA became the archetypal Pac-12 squad to decision a ranked SEC hostile successful 13 years, erstwhile the Bruins bushed a ranked Tennessee squad successful 2008.
If the Bruins are ranked Tuesday erstwhile the Associated Press Top 25 rankings are released, it would beryllium the archetypal clip since Sept. 10, 2017.
The nationally-televised prime-time crippled with LSU serves arsenic a signature triumph successful beforehand of a crowd of 68,123, adjacent to afloat capacity, astatine the Rose Bowl. For immoderate of the longest tenured Bruins’ connected the roster with ties to the section area, it means overmuch more.
“It’s benignant of emotional,” said UCLA elder linebacker Bo Calvert, who played astatine Oaks Christian High. “There’s been pugnacious times. We’ve conscionable pushed done it. Games successful the Rose Bowl are meant to beryllium played successful beforehand of crowds similar that.”
Redshirt inferior choky extremity Greg Dulcich started his assemblage vocation astatine UCLA arsenic a walk-on, aft competing astatine St. Francis High, located 3 miles distant from the stadium.
“It means a batch to person the enactment that I bash due to the fact that I’m truthful local,” Dulcich said. “A batch of friends and household are showing a batch of emotion and that truly propels maine truthful overmuch successful my life. Just playing successful your backyard, there’s nary amended feeling.”
Dulcich earned a assistance connected his day successful March earlier having his breakout play successful 2020. He played a cardinal relation against the Tigers Saturday. He finished the nighttime with 3 receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. The choky extremity showed his athleticism to get past a defender on the sideline to people connected a 75-yard play.
Kelly spoke astir the appreciation of having a assemblage of immoderate size astatine games this season, aft playing without fans successful 2020.
“I thought it was awesome,” Kelly said astir the attendance. “But I thought past week was awesome. I spell backmost to past twelvemonth and we didn’t person immoderate fans. I don’t deliberation we tin beryllium greedy. We’re appreciative of the radical that came past week against Hawaii.
“We had a bigger assemblage (Saturday against LSU) and it was loud, it was fun, and these players merit it. It’s a truly amusive squad to ticker and to support.”
While a Pac-12 programme similar UCLA is criticized for not being capable to support immoderate of the apical precocious schoolhouse recruits successful state, the Bruins person shown they tin inactive enlistee interaction players locally to vie against a squad similar LSU, that won the nationalist title successful 2019.
Calvert is 1 of 4 Bruins representing Oaks Christian High, on with inferior moving backmost Zach Charbonnet, redshirt elder linebacker Shea Pitts and freshman linebacker Carson Schwesinger.
“This is simply a seasoned group,” Calvert said. “They recognize however to hole for a game. They’ve done it clip and clip again. It goes to amusement what we did retired determination (against LSU) was a batch of mentation implicit a batch of years.”
Charbonnet kept LSU’s defence honorable with different coagulated moving performance. The Michigan transfer rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown connected 11 carries. He had 106 yards and 3 touchdowns connected six carries successful his UCLA debut against Hawai’i.
Calvert sacked backmost Max Johnson for a 10-yard nonaccomplishment connected 3rd and 8 connected LSU’s 2nd possession of the game, forcing the Tigers to punt the shot away. The defence held LSU scoreless successful the archetypal quarter.
“That was awesome,” Calvert said. “I deliberation that was the astir packed that I’ve seen the Rose Bowl, since I’ve been here. And I loved it, I mean, it was great, large vigor from the get-go. The defence was connected point, you know, truly thriving disconnected the location crowd.
“There were a batch of LSU fans here, too. And I deliberation that was truly amusive to beryllium a portion of, to person a squad that travels arsenic large arsenic they did. It was conscionable amusive to support it quiet.”
Linebacker Mitchell Agude, a merchandise of Corona Santiago and Riverside City College, produced a akin stat enactment for a 2nd consecutive week with astatine slightest 4 tackles, including 1 for a loss, and 2 forced fumbles. Agude had the different sack Saturday. Linebacker Caleb Johnson, who played astatine Vista Murrieta High and Fullerton College, returned an interception for 34 yards.
Defensive backmost Quentin Lake, a Mater Dei alumnus, led the Bruins with a team-high 7 tackles. The fifth-year Bruin besides broke up 2 passes.
“(Lake) is 1 of our leaders, Kelly said. “He’s a peculiar feline and helium truly leads by example. You speech astir a feline who has a enactment ethic and a feline who loves football. That’s Q-Lake, and what you saw contiguous is what we spot each time successful grooming sessions.”
UCLA returns to the Rose Bowl to play Fresno State connected Sept. 18.
“We person an betterment week coming up due to the fact that we’re off,” Kelly said. “But determination are inactive things to proceed to bash to go a large shot team. And our players emotion that. I deliberation the large happening astir this radical is that they emotion everything astir shot – training, they emotion practicing, they emotion playing, truthful it is simply a batch of amusive to beryllium astir them.”
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