This post was updated Oct. 2 at 11:31 p.m.

Then-unranked UCLA football (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) produced a statement win Friday night at the Rose Bowl, taking down then-No. 15 Washington (4-1, 1-1) to remain undefeated through five games. Sports editor Sam Settleman gives his five main takeaways from the Friday night upset in Pasadena.

Dominant DTR debunks doubters

There’s just something about the bright lights that Dorian Thompson-Robinson doesn’t shy away from.

Playing under the Friday Night Lights in the Rose Bowl in a nationally televised game on ESPN brought out the best in the redshirt senior quarterback – and honestly, that shouldn’t be surprising anymore.

Thompson-Robinson lit up USC with six touchdowns and a jaw-dropping hurdle a season ago when UCLA put up 62 points in its rivalry win. In his first big game since conquering the Trojans, it was Thompson-Robinson who executed another thrilling hurdle and stole the show once more.

While the competition hadn’t exactly been outstanding and the numbers might not have popped off the stat sheet before Washington came to town, Thompson-Robinson had quietly gotten off to the best start of his career.

But there was nothing quiet about Friday night’s performance.

Penned as a marquee matchup between a fifth-year quarterback still trying to make a name for himself in the national media in Thompson-Robinson and the nation’s leading passer in Michael Penix Jr., all eyes were on the latter. Washington had the high-flying, razzle-dazzle offense that had football fans across the country tuning into Pac-12 After Dark on Friday night.

Instead, Thompson-Robinson outdueled Penix on national television, manufacturing numerous highlight-reel plays as he made a mockery of Husky defenders all night.

And he wasn’t shy about letting the public know, either.

“I told you all on Monday, ‘See if Washington can run with us, not the other way around,’” Thompson-Robinson said after the game.

Not so quietly anymore, Thompson-Robinson is beginning to put the nation on notice.

Back in the national spotlight

When Chip Kelly and UCLA took down then-No. 16 LSU at the Rose Bowl last season, the storyline read that the coach had finally earned his signature win with the blue and gold.

Ultimately, the Tigers proved to be mediocre in 2021, and that victory didn’t age as well as the Bruins hoped. UCLA made a return to the AP Poll before subsequently dropping out of the rankings, but Kelly had at least assuaged some of the doubters.

Whether or not UCLA’s win over Washington falls victim to the same fate by season’s end, this is a statement win – and one that has put the Bruins back on the map.

Was Washington truly the No. 15 team in the country? Probably not. Was UCLA really the worst 4-0 team in the country like some people were saying? Probably not.

Regardless of what fans think about the Bruins now, Sunday’s AP Poll has put UCLA at No. 18 – and it’s hard to argue against that.

A 5-0 start didn’t seem extremely unlikely given the Bruins’ schedule to start the season, but the fact that UCLA achieved it by dominating a ranked Washington team is notable. This might have been an 8-point win, but the Bruins were up 40-16 entering the fourth quarter and looked to be in full control.

The real test, however, will come in October.

With games against No. 11 Utah and No. 12 Oregon on the docket next, the direction of UCLA’s season will be put in question.

How the Bruins respond will tell us if this team is truly legit.

Defense provides a ray of hope

It’s the same storyline every year for UCLA.

The offense keeps the Bruins in games, and the defense loses them. Through four games, this team looked a lot like UCLA teams of late. With routine defensive miscues and subpar performances against subpar offenses, the Bruins’ defense didn’t look to be a difference-maker – in a positive way, at least.

But that perception changed Friday when for three quarters, UCLA slowed down one of the top offenses in the country.

Penix and the Huskies were firing on all cylinders, with coach Kalen DeBoer’s offense humming to the tune of 44 points per game and a top-five total offense. Common sense told you the Bruins’ defense was in for a long night.

But common sense was wrong.

UCLA found a way to put the pressure on Penix and force him into bad throws. Two quarters into the game, Penix had already doubled his previous interception total on the season.

Even when Washington tried to put the ball on the ground, a depleted UCLA interior defensive line stymied the Huskies’ chance of building any sort of rhythm on offense. Washington netted a grand total of 71 yards on 23 rushing attempts.

Redshirt senior defensive back Azizi Hearn made a pass breakup in the end zone, redshirt junior linebacker Laiatu Latu added yet another sack to his total, and senior linebacker Darius Muasau continued to look like a menace across the field.

This Bruin defense has far from proven itself as one of the best in the conference, but Friday showed this group has the potential to do something UCLA’s defense hasn’t been able to do in recent memory – win football games.

Big men making big moves

Entering the 2022 season, there were few question marks for the Bruins bigger than the ones surrounding the offensive line.

UCLA’s ability to replace the production of three starting offensive linemen stood to be a large factor in this team’s ceiling. And that group had done little to answer those questions four games into the season. Against lackluster defensive talent, UCLA failed to dominate in the trenches – barring one solid performance against a historically bad Colorado rushing defense.

But against a Washington team that entered the night tied for third in the nation in sacks, UCLA’s offensive line more than held its own. Even against a Husky defense that mixes up its blitzes and finds creative ways to send heat, the Bruins gave up just one sack on the night.

Thompson-Robinson had plenty of time to work through his progressions and find the open target, allowing him to connect with nine different receivers for the second straight week.

On the ground, senior running back Zach Charbonnet quietly rushed for a season-high 124 yards on 22 carries to bring his season average to 6.4 yards per carry – good for 18th in the nation.

The success of this offensive line plays a large role in determining UCLA’s ability to be versatile on the offensive side of the ball. If this group can consistently play like it did Friday, this offense will be unstoppable.

Feeling the blues?

It’s hard to find a negative takeaway from UCLA’s Friday performance.

But perhaps the biggest stain on the blue and gold’s statement win was something the Bruins had little control over.

The talk of the town through four games had been lackluster fan attendance at the Rose Bowl. Images of sparsely-populated seats circled the internet as the relevance of UCLA’s football program became a national topic of conversation.

But with early kickoff times, scorching temperatures and bad opponents, Bruin fans had little reason to show up to the first three home games of the year. A Friday night game against a ranked opponent after a 4-0 start was set to quell those concerns.

Instead, the turnout underwhelmed once more: 41,343.

It won’t be the main talking point in the wake of a big win for the program, but barely 40,000 fans showing up for a marquee matchup spells the onset of a negative trend.

Just a season ago, UCLA drew nearly 70,000 fans in its bout with LSU, and more than 55,000 spectators showed up to watch its duel with Oregon.

If a ranked showdown against Utah and its heavy contingent of traveling fans can’t push the 60,000 mark at the Rose Bowl, the national commentary on a season of lackluster attendance in Pasadena will continue – and rightfully so.