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Between Two Bruins: Daily Bruin Sports answers questions about 2021 season

(Lauren Ho/Design director, Photos (left to right): David Rimer/assistant Photo editor, Daily Bruin file photo, David Rimer/Assistant Photo editor)

By Jon Christon

Aug. 22, 2021 1:52 p.m.

This post was updated Aug. 22 at 10:07 p.m.

(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)
(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)

That’s the question most fans have about this team, but I have good news for you.

I’m here to say that I think UCLA football will actually be good this year, just as it was last year – kind of. In other words, the Bruins will not be “buns” again.

While the Bruins went just 3-4 a year ago, the games were all close. They never lost by more than one possession and displayed a ton of growth from the year before.

UCLA went just 4-8 in 2019 with an average margin of defeat of more than 18 points in its eight losses. The team ranked in the bottom two of the Pac-12 in scoring defense, passing defense and total defense while placing in the bottom half of the conference in a number of offensive categories, including scoring offense and total offense.

However, in 2020, the Bruins improved in most of those categories, particularly those on the offensive side of the ball. UCLA finished the season ranked second in scoring offense as coach Chip Kelly regained the rushing prowess he was known for at Oregon.

A lot of the offensive progression this season will hinge on senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who missed two games in 2020 but showed growth in the five games he did play in.

Thompson-Robinson improved his completion percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratio and passer rating from his previous season and was also unlocked more as a runner, rushing for more than 60 yards per contest.

If Thompson-Robinson is good this year, the Bruins will be as well.

Defensively, the team still took its lumps – it ranked 11th in the Pac-12 again in passing defense in 2020 – but at least found something in its rushing defense. UCLA allowed just 135.7 yards per game last season, good for second in the conference.

If the team can improve again this season with nearly the entire roster returning, then UCLA will have an undisputedly good season, maybe even one where it can compete for a Pac-12 title.

A pathway for being “buns” is certainly there. Maybe Thompson-Robinson gets injured for the fourth straight season. Or the defense could regress again. Or the loss of former running back Demetric Felton turns out to be too much for the running attack to overcome.

But if I had to bet on it, I would say that’s unlikely, and a winning season is finally on the horizon.

(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)
(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)

I can’t say I know the full extent of the COVID-19 protocols a year ago, but I do know they were exhaustive measures, with near-daily testing for everybody involved in the program and strict restrictions on group settings for the team.

With almost the entire team vaccinated against COVID-19 this year, it’s safe to say that it will be a much more relaxed situation this year.

Testing isn’t as strict as it was a year ago, contact tracing no longer automatically limits your availability and the team can actually have indoor meetings, just to name a few of the eased protocols. Players will most likely still be tested weekly – as will all students at UCLA – and confirmed COVID-19 cases will still force players to sit out, vaccinated or not.

For the Pac-12 in general, the protocols change for the unvaccinated, who have to continue wearing masks indoors and will have stricter contact-tracing guidelines applied to them.

The conference’s COVID-19 protocols included other new policies, such as one about COVID-19 forfeitures. If a team doesn’t have enough players for a given week because of COVID-19, they will be forced to forfeit the game and be assessed a loss. This is different from last season, in which the same situation would not have impacted a team’s record.

From a media perspective, one thing I actually know about, some stuff has changed as well.

More interviews will be done in person, and we are actually able to watch practices from the field, although Zoom interviews will probably be here to stay in some capacity for the foreseeable future.

(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)
(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)
(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)
(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)

In terms of capacity, UCLA announced back in June that it was opening up the Rose Bowl for full capacity, which is more than 80,000 occupants.

So as of right now, fans can fill up the Rose Bowl as much as they please.

However, since that time, Los Angeles County announced that it is requiring masks for large outdoor events. The order defines those as events with more than 10,000 people in attendance.

UCLA football averaged more than 57,000 fans per game over the past five seasons that fans were allowed, and the Rose Bowl sits inside LA County, so if you are planning on going to Bruin games, make sure you bring a mask.

Other Pac-12 schools, like Oregon and Oregon State, recently became the first Power Five schools to announce they are requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test to enter the stadium on game days, and I bet UCLA will follow them at some point.

With COVID-19 cases still on the rise, I would also bet against having full capacity for the entire season, and I also think the mask mandate will continue into 2022.

(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)
(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)

UCLA plays Hawai’i at the Rose Bowl on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. to open up its season.

(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)
(Screen capture by Amber Tien/Daily Bruin senior staff)

I hope so.

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Jon Christon | Sports senior staff
Christon is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously the Sports editor on the men's basketball and football beats and the assistant Sports editor on the women's basketball, softball, men's tennis and women's tennis beats. Christon was previously a contributor on the women's basketball and softball beats.
Christon is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously the Sports editor on the men's basketball and football beats and the assistant Sports editor on the women's basketball, softball, men's tennis and women's tennis beats. Christon was previously a contributor on the women's basketball and softball beats.
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