Offseason edition looking back on the 2020 season

2020 was the year of COVID. College football and all sports in general were up in the air. But the season played on but in a modified way. As UCLA only played seven games in the Pac-12 conference. They tried to limit travel as much as possible and with masks being worn on the sidelines with as much social distance as teams could. It was very weird seeing football games being played in empty stadiums. But at the same time football provided energy to sports fans as the world still felt locked down with restrictions.

UCLA started to take another leap in year three under Chip Kelly. They went 3-4 on their limited schedule and their offense took another big leap. They scored 35.4 points per game and seemed to be buying in to Kelly’s offensive masterplan. Dorian Thompson-Robinson upped his completion percentage to 65.2% while limiting his turnovers. Only throwing four interceptions compared to 12 touchdowns. Players that wanted to play another year were also granted the COVID year so this year wasn’t counted against the four eligible years.

Demetric Felton used a really good season where he ran for 111.3 yards per game into being drafted in the 6th round. Greg Dulcich also started his ascent to being one of the top tight ends in the nation. He only had 527 yards but did so on 19.9 yards per catch which is elite for a tight end. Proving to become one of Thompson-Robinson’s top options on offense. Kyle Philips was a good option out of the slot and was a shifty receiver that could get open.

The defense still showed to be a work in progress as they gave up over 30 per game. Osa Odighizuwa became a 3rd round draft pick after a good season of six tackles for loss and four sacks. Mitchell Agude and Quentin Lake would be leaders for the 2021 defense the year after and were two young pieces to work with. The defense knew how to get into the backfield for tackles and rush the quarterback. This led to UCLA being able to force 1.6 turnovers per game on the season.