UCLA football brings Huskies to heel, lands 1st 5-win season under Chip Kelly

This post was updated Oct. 16 at 10:57 p.m.

SEATTLE — Late in the fourth quarter, the Huskies were in Bruin territory, one touchdown away from tying the game.

But Devin Kirkwood and his first career interception made sure that wouldn’t happen.

“That was probably the biggest play of the game,” said redshirt senior defensive back Quentin Lake. “That was a huge stop; it changed the whole momentum of the game.”

UCLA football (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) picked up a 24-17 win on the road against Washington (2-4, 1-2) on Saturday night. The Huskies moved the ball down the field and into enemy territory on their final drive before the freshman defensive back made a play on a deep ball to give possession – and the victory – to the Bruins.

Coach Chip Kelly said the first pick of Kirkwood’s young career was as impressive as it gets.

“I thought, ‘We may be beat here,’” Kelly said. “But (Kirkwood) closed the gap. He’s just got such long arms. He made a heck of a play on the ball, and he’s got really good ball skills – and for a young kid like that.”

The win marks the first time in the Kelly era that UCLA has reached the five-win threshold, with the Bruins now one win shy of their first .500 or better regular season since 2016.

Lake said the victory was one of the most satisfying wins in his college career.

“You have a loud stadium, everything’s hectic, you’re on the road, coming off a victory in the past – it’s just a lot of emotion,” Lake said. “These are the ones you kind of remember over the course of your career.”

UCLA jumped out to an early double-digit lead on the back of senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s two first-half touchdowns, but a 26-yard touchdown reception from wide receiver Rome Odunze with less than a minute to go in the second quarter put the Huskies within one possession at the break.

After rushing for four yards in the first half, Washington kept the ball on the ground to open the third quarter, carrying the ball for 52 yards in its first second-half drive. The possession was capped off by the seventh run of the drive, with quarterback Dylan Morris sneaking in the ball from one yard out to tie the game at 17 apiece.

However, the Bruins would leave the Huskies off the scoreboard the rest of the game, shutting out their opponent in the fourth quarter for the third time this season.

Lake said the improved late-game defense started with a mindset shift.

“Usually, we throw the fours up in the fourth quarter to signal, ‘Oh, it’s the end of the game,’” Lake said. “But (Saturday), our motto was, ‘We throw up ones,’ to signal it’s just the beginning – just the start.”

After gaining 250 yards in the first two quarters alone, UCLA began the second half with 52 yards on its first two drives, resulting in two early third-quarter punts.

The Bruins wouldn’t punt the ball on their third second-half possession, however, as the blue and gold sustained its longest drive of the game in the fourth quarter.

UCLA drove 90 yards on 13 plays in five minutes and 47 seconds, including conversions on a third down and a fourth down. Thompson-Robinson, who had the fourth-down conversion on a quarterback sneak, said his first down was nothing special.

“(I was) just doing my job,” Thompson-Robinson said. “They had pretty good coverage downfield, so being able to make a play when my number was called was definitely big.”

The senior quarterback would end his night 8-of-8 passing in the fourth quarter, with one of the completions resulting in a nine-yard touchdown reception for redshirt junior tight end Greg Dulcich.

While Dulcich finished with two catches for 25 yards in the win, Kelly said the tight end played his best game of the season in one area.

“This may have been Greg Dulcich’s best game blocking,” Kelly said. “It’s really been an emphasis for him, and he’s really stepped it up.”

Kelly credited Dulcich and the offensive line for allowing UCLA to reach the 200-rushing-yard plateau for the sixth time in seven games this season, as the Bruins finished with 237 yards on the ground.

The lead would remain for the rest of the contest after Dulcich’s touchdown, as Kirkwood’s interception sealed Washington’s last chance to put more points on the board.

On its final drive of the game, UCLA rushed on all seven of its active plays, gaining 37 rushing yards and three first downs to ice the Bruins’ first win in Seattle since 2014.

Thompson-Robinson said he couldn’t have been prouder of how the game ended.

“If there’s one person I can be super ecstatic and happy for, it was (Kirkwood),” Thompson-Robinson said. “He hadn’t got in the game all game, and (when) his number was called, he made his play. I couldn’t be more happy for him.”