Chip Kelly’s offensive struggles continue entering rivalry game vs. USC

LOS ANGELES — UCLA football coach Chip Kelly’s offensive prowess made him a celebrated hire in November 2017, but it hasn’t shown through this season.

Kelly’s winningest seasons at UCLA came in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, when his offense ranked within the top 12 in scoring offense, consisting of a group that had both chemistry and experience.

The drop-off has been noticeable this season after losing veterans to the NFL and graduation. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, now with the Cleveland Browns, was Kelly’s starting quarterback for his first five years as coach.

UCLA has shuffled multiple players as starting quarterback throughout the first 10 games and the scoring offense (26.4 points per game) is tied for 69th in the country.

“I think we could get more production out of everyone on offense,” Kelly said. “I don’t think we are where we need to be on the offensive side of the ball. That’s all of us and that’s our coaches putting those guys in positions to make plays.

“We’re not where we have been offensively. We have been a lot better defensively than we have in the past.”

After a successful transfer portal class that landed an elite defensive front ahead of the 2022 season, Kelly focused on bringing in offensive talent ahead of this season to help fill the void left by veterans and to add depth.

At quarterback, true freshman quarterback Dante Moore started five games and redshirt junior Ethan Garbers started four games. Kent State transfer Collin Schlee made his first start of the season last week.

“Our depth has been tested, especially at the quarterback spot,” Kelly said. “We played with the third quarterback last week and I don’t know how many teams could even line up a third quarterback, but that’s part of the process.”

Kelly managed to attract receivers from other Pac-12 programs, such as J.Michael Sturdivant (Cal) and Kyle Ford (USC) to complement the Bruins’ quarterbacks but expectations haven’t been met in the passing game.

Fourth-year receiver Logan Loya has led the Bruins’ receivers with 40 receptions for 502 yards and four touchdowns. Sturdivant has 28 catches for 428 yards and three touchdowns while Ford has 13 catches for 152 yards.

Ford is expected to play this week against his former Trojan teammates. He didn’t play against Arizona for an undisclosed reason but quickly returned the following week against Arizona State.

“Kyle’s been great,” Kelly added. “He’s ready to go. The only thing for Kyle, and I’ve shared this with a lot of them, is ‘play with emotion, don’t let emotion play with you,’ but he’s been laser-focused this week and we’re excited to see him play on Saturday.”

UCLA will be facing a USC defense that has struggled. USC ranks 123rd in the country in total defense, allowing 446.5 yards per game and is 120th in scoring defense, allowing 34.64 points per game.

There could be a variety of emotions expressed this weekend as questions about Kelly’s job status have risen.

Kelly is 33-33 after 66 games at the helm and a loss to crosstown rival USC could be enough to end the relationship in Westwood. Kelly’s predecessors, Rick Neuheisel and Jim Mora were both fired after a loss to USC.

The Bruins already have a new beginning scheduled in 2024 with their move to the Big Ten Conference, but Kelly may no longer be a part of the next chapter in the program’s history despite signing a two-year extension in March.

The agreed extension would have kept him in place through 2027. He’s set to receive $8.5 million buyout if he’s dismissed before December 2023. The amount will fall to $4.27 if he’s let go before December 2024.

UCLA is expected to collect $70 million annually as a member of its new conference.

The early college football transfer window, which begins Dec. 4, may be enough to justify moving on from Kelly and immediately starting a coaching search. Mississippi State (Zach Arnett) and Texas A&M (Jimbo Fisher) are among the college programs that dismissed their respective coaches this week.

Current high school commits are also being impacted, waiting for official word of Kelly’s status from the university. High school athletes could begin signing their national letters of intent on December 20.