UCLA football welcomes opportunity to rewrite Chip Kelly’s September record
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Datona Jackson grabbed his first career interception in UCLA football’s win over Hawai’i. The lineman also had three tackles and 0.5 sacks in the victory. (Tanmay Shankar/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Jon Christon
Sept. 2, 2021 4:08 p.m.
September was in the air at Wasserman Football Center on Wednesday.
On the first day of the month, UCLA football (1-0) started its practice by listening to the song “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire through the loudspeakers. But while the song is bright and cheery, the Bruins’ September outlook in years past has had a different feel.
Dating back to coach Chip Kelly’s first season with the Bruins in 2018, UCLA is 1-7 in games in the month of September. While the team didn’t play any September games a year ago because of the COVID-19-shortened season, it was outscored 305-180 in such contests in 2018 and 2019.
Kelly and the Bruins have the chance to improve their recent September record with a matchup against No. 16 LSU on Saturday, but the fourth-year coach said they are treating the matchup as they would any other game.
“Whoever the opponent is, we only get 12 (games),” Kelly said. “What we do with our practice schedule doesn’t change. What are Tuesdays like, what are Wednesdays like, what are Mondays are like – it doesn’t change. You have to be consistent in your approach.”
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Datona Jackson said the team this year is much different and more mature than the ones that accumulated the 1-7 record in the past.
“Each year, we’ve mostly increased the building blocks of being younger guys – there was a lot of young guys when I got here,” Jackson said. “But everyone’s starting to age into their roles really well.”
UCLA already got one monkey off its back last week with its 44-10 win over Hawai’i, as the victory marked the team’s first nonconference victory under Kelly. The game also marked the Bruins’ largest margin of victory since 2015, and the 10 points allowed were tied for the second-fewest given up by a UCLA defense in the Kelly era.
Among the defenders who helped disrupt the Rainbow Warrior offense was Jackson, who recorded three tackles, 0.5 sacks and his first career interception in the win. The redshirt senior lineman said the interception was just the result of his teammates putting him in the right spot.
“I just saw some of my teammates sent a lot of pressure on the quarterback, and I’ve seen how (Hawai’i quarterback Chevan Cordeiro) was dropping, and it looked like he was running a screen,” Jackson said. “So I was just staying vigilant – seeing that he threw the ball in my vicinity, I just reached out and made the play.”
LSU will counter Jackson and the rest of UCLA’s experienced defensive line – all four defensive linemen listed on the Bruins’ two-deep depth chart for this week are seniors – with an offensive line that starts two graduate students, two seniors and one junior.
However, nearly that same Tiger offensive line ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in terms of sacks allowed and ranked in the bottom half of the country in standard downs, line yards per carry and opportunity rate – a pair of advanced offensive line statistics from Football Outsiders that judge the quality of an offensive line’s run blocking.
UCLA’s defensive line, on the other hand, helped the team pace the Pac-12 in sacks and held opponents to just 135.7 rushing yards per game in 2020, good for 30th in the nation. In their season opener against the Rainbow Warriors, the Bruins tallied two sacks and allowed only 26 rushing yards.
Jackson said the defense is in a good place heading into the LSU matchup with a chance to help pick up only the team’s second September win in the Kelly era.
“Our overall confidence is very high,” Jackson said. “We’re going to stick to our game plan and play our type of game no matter what we face. We’re not going to let anything try and shake us. We’re not going to make anything bigger than what it is. We’re just going to go and execute our plan the best that we can.”
On the flip side of the trenches, the Bruins’ offensive line is also ready for the opportunity the Tigers present, according to senior offensive lineman Atonio Mafi.
“I’m excited to play for sure,” Mafi said. “They definitely present a good challenge for us. We’re just excited. We’ve had a good week of practice, we’ve been working hard, communicating – it should be fun.”
