UCLA football readies for home turf face-off against Colorado

The Bruins are back at home following a two-game skid.

UCLA football (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12) will host Colorado (3-6, 2-4) at the Rose Bowl coming off a bye week. The Bruins fell to the Buffaloes in their season opener last year, in former UCLA coach-turned-Colorado coach Karl Dorrell’s debut.

The Buffaloes have yet to win a game on the road, but the Bruins have lost three straight home games in 2021. A win would give UCLA its sixth victory on the year, qualifying it for a bowl game for the first time under coach Chip Kelly.

Redshirt senior defensive back Qwuantrezz Knight – who leads the team with 49 tackles – said the bye week helped the Bruins recover from injury.

“Because of the last two losses, you would want to get that taste out of your mouth as quick as possible,” Knight said. “But I think the bye week definitely benefited us. We had a lot of guys that were able to get healthy. … The energy is at an all-time high right now.”

After suffering an injury on the final drive against No. 3 Oregon and missing the following game against No. 24 Utah, senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson said being off for two weeks without using his hand allowed him to heal and that he expects to start Saturday.

“(My thumb) just didn’t feel 100% – or at least close enough to where I could give the team the best chance to win,” Thompson-Robinson said. “At the end of the day that’s my job, and so I figured (redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Garbers) would have the best shot for us, so that’s why I didn’t play against Utah. But the bye week came at a pretty good time.”

UCLA will be facing Colorado quarterback Brendon Lewis, who has thrown for six touchdowns and no interceptions in his last two outings. The Bruins failed to force a turnover in their most recent loss to the Utes.

Kelly praised Lewis’ play as of late and said the Buffaloes have taken advantage of running the ball well.

“The quarterback has started to play really well for them. He’s a very athletic kid that can run around,” Kelly said. “They’re running the ball right now. They’ve got an explosive receiver in Rice. They’ve taken advantage of some play-action passes and had some big plays.”

Rushing for at least 200 yards in every win this season, UCLA is set to face a Colorado team that ranks No. 103 in the country in rushing defense, allowing 196.9 yards per game on the ground.

With a Pac-12 championship game appearance out of reach, Knight said he preaches to his teammates to focus on winning each week.

“Our journey right now is to go 1-0 each week, and if we go 1-0 each week, we’re going to find ourselves in a good spot,” Knight said. “Just stay together and fight together and be here for each other.”