The No. 11-ranked UCLA football team is off this Saturday, with a 6-0 start it will take to No. 12 Oregon the following week.
At the midway point of the regular season, let’s rewind and look at how the Bruins have performed to this point.
The pass rush is legit
It would be easy to start off by talking about quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the increasing hype he’s garnered nationally. But the offense, along with running back Zach Charbonnet, was less of a concern with such a strong 1-2 punch.
The defense, with as many as five different transfers earning starts to this point, had a number of questions coming into the season.
A sixth transfer, however, has arguably made the biggest impact thus far. Edge rusher Laiatu Latu is tied for second in the nation with 6.5 sacks, while the team is tied for 35th with 15 in total.
What may be overlooked is the addition of outside linebackers coach Ikaika Malloe, who helped recruit Latu, twins Gabriel and Grayson Murphy and middle linebacker Darius Muasau through the transfer portal.
“He’s a great recruiter, but he also is a really, really good teacher,” Bruins head coach Chip Kelly said this week. “He’s added a lot from that standpoint. A lot of it still is personnel-driven and I think we’ve got some personnel up there that has really done an outstanding job. Ikaika is a really good teacher when it comes to pass rush skills and movement, but it’s always easier to be a better coach when you have better players to work with.”
