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Five Things: UCLA vs. Cincinnati

Sophomore safety Stephan Blaylock recorded six tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup in Thursday’s loss to Cincinnati. Blaylock tallied 22 tackles off the bench in 2018. (Axel Lopez/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By Sam Connon

Aug. 30, 2019 4:48 p.m.

CINCINNATI – UCLA football dropped its season-opener to Cincinnati for the second consecutive year, this time by a score of 14-24. The Bruins are now 2-4 when opening the season on the road this decade and 0-2 all time against the Bearcats. To dive a little deeper into the beginning of coach Chip Kelly’s second season in blue and gold, here are five takeaways from the game:

1. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is out of good fortune

If you followed the game on Twitter, you would probably have seen a solid number of people calling for the sophomore quarterback’s head.

People are equating him to a bad high school player and calling for redshirt sophomore Austin Burton to start next week against San Diego State. And while those may be overreactions, the responses aren’t exactly unwarranted.

Thompson-Robinson was 8-of-26 on the night, posting a career-low 30.8 completion percentage and a 91.2 passer rating that was just barely better than his career-low 91.1 mark against Colorado last year. He turned the ball over four times and his 75-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior Demetric Felton didn’t even travel 10 yards through the air.

The coaching staff, players, fans and media – myself included – spent the past several months preparing the world for a new and improved Thompson-Robinson. This was supposed to be his year, everyone was supposed to witness his full potential on display.

Talk about an underwhelming season debut.

Thompson-Robinson has 11 more chances to prove the doubters wrong, but Thursday night didn’t do him any favors. He looked uncomfortable, nervous and overwhelmed for most of the game and he completed just one deep attempt all night.

Once redshirt senior Joshua Kelley, senior wide receiver Theo Howard and redshirt junior Michael Alves return to the starting lineup, Thompson-Robinson will certainly be in a better spot than he was in Nippert Stadium. But by the time that happens, the DTR bandwagon will probably be completely empty.

2. Joshua Kelley is, in fact, very important

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Kelley put the UCLA offense on his back in 2018.

The former transfer out of UC Davis averaged 135.1 yards per game across the Bruins’ final nine contests of the year. UCLA went 3-1 when he broke the 130-yard threshold and no other Bruin running back came within shouting distance of his 225 carries.

Which is partially why the Bruins seemed so lost on offense once he was ruled out due to injury.

Felton filled in serviceably in terms of count stats – he led the team with 71 yards out of the backfield. But the efficiency that led Kelley to 5.5 yards per carry in 2018 wasn’t present in Felton’s 3.1 yards per carry performance.

Felton is two inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter than Kelley and the two boast very different play styles. Asking Felton to be Kelley for a night was never going to work because Felton is not Kelley.

There was a lot of talk throughout camp about UCLA’s depth at running back in 2019, but the depth didn’t do its job in Ohio on Thursday. Sophomore Martell Irby only got three carries and sophomore Kazmeir Allen didn’t make the trip with the team due to academic issues.

There was hope that this wouldn’t be the case this season, but for the Bruins to stay afloat, they need Kelley to come to the rescue yet again.

3. Stephan Blaylock is no Adarius Pickett, but he did make his mark

Losing Pickett was always going to be an issue for the Bruins’ secondary.

Every-down ball hawks like Pickett don’t grow on trees, and a young secondary certainly can’t make up for his experience and leadership. One fresh face with similar measurables, however, is sophomore safety Stephan Blaylock.

Blaylock played in all 12 games as a true freshman last season but he wasn’t a starter. With Pickett gone, defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro had to find a replacement, and Blaylock was his go-to guy to patrol the secondary on Thursday.

Blaylock’s six tackles were tied for fourth most on the team and he managed to record half of a tackle for loss as well. He broke up a third down bomb by Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder on the first possession of the game to set the tone for the defense early.

That tone didn’t stick for very long and the defense wound up allowing over 400 yards for the seventh straight game , but Blaylock showed that the newbies in the defensive backfield have a high ceiling in 2019.

4. Josh Woods is back

The redshirt senior linebacker had been a full participant in fall training camp, but it’s understandable to feel uneasy about a player recovering from a season-ending knee injury.

He made the start Thursday night and it looked like he hadn’t missed a beat.

Woods lined up in the middle, on the edge and in the slot throughout the game. While he wasn’t a game-changer – only picking up three solo tackles and six overall – just being out there is a plus for Woods.

He spoke after the game about how he was laughing and smiling all night long, despite the losing effort. He had two chasedown tackles in the first half that showcased his speed, removing the uncertainty surrounding his explosiveness post-injury.

Woods showed good instincts, finding holes and plugging gaps in the running game all night long. He got an offsides called against him when he cramped up and failed to make it to the sideline before the snap, but Woods mostly played mistake-free football for the rest of the game.

He may not be an All-American, but I think every player, coach and fan should be ecstatic Woods has made his return.

5. The pass rush is still a major issue

The Bruins sacked Ridder one measly time Thursday night.

That’s worse than UCLA’s average of 1.3 sacks per game in 2018. The defensive line was also the only unit on either side of the ball that wasn’t missing a key contributor due to injury or suspension, meaning they didn’t have an excuse like everyone else.

Redshirt sophomore defensive line Odua Isibor recorded the Bruins’ only sack of the night and no one else was able to make Ridder uncomfortable in the pocket. The Bearcats only sacked Thompson-Robinson once as well, but while Cincinnati recorded seven quarterback hits, UCLA picked up just two.

Several corner blitzes did force Ridder outside of the pocket, but the coverage collapsed and the Bearcats still got positive plays out of it. Azzinaro’s blitz schemes and standard pass rushes were completely ineffective against the mobile, dual-threat Ridder – an issue that could pop up time and time again against San Diego State’s Ryan Agnew, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts and Arizona’s Khalil Tate.

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Sam Connon | Alumnus
Connon joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until he graduated in 2021. He was the Sports editor for the 2019-2020 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country, men's golf and women's golf beats, while also contributing movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment.
Connon joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until he graduated in 2021. He was the Sports editor for the 2019-2020 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country, men's golf and women's golf beats, while also contributing movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment.
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