Offseason edition looking back on the 2021 season

The 2021 UCLA season was filled with high expectations. After the COVID year where they showed progress going 3-4. This was the year they were expected to compete in the Pac-12. The Bruins stormed out of the gate with a blowout win against Hawaii. Setting up a showdown with LSU at the Rose Bowl. With UCLA operating as underdogs, they came out with a 38-27 win. Pushing them all the way up to No. 13 in the nation. It was the first time they had been in the top 25 since early in 2017.

That would be short lived as they would lose to Fresno State the following week 40-37 as favorites. This would drop them to No. 24 as they would matchup with Stanford and win. Following a loss to Arizona State the next game they would not reach the top 25 again the rest of the season. UCLA would have a top 20 offense in the nation and their 36.5 points per game would rank them at No. 13 in the country. Dorian Thompson-Robinson continued to get better at quarterback as he completed 62.2% of his passes and throwing 21 touchdowns to only six interceptions.

The Bruins would go on to finish 8-4 on the season and qualify to play in the Holiday Bowl versus North Carolina State. A game in which UCLA would bow out of due to COVID concerns and not having enough players. It became surrounded with controversy with a lawsuit, even coming from it. As the Holiday Bowl tried to get back money that was used for the game. Which was around $3 million that was filed against UC Regents and the Pac-12. Due to lost ticket revenue. UCLA was not compensated at all for the game due to dropping out.

Chip Kelly’s key addition as a transfer was Zach Charbonnet and he did not disappoint. Becoming one of the best running backs in the nation as he ran for 1,137 yards and 13 touchdowns. Proving that Kelly was a genius again in running the football. He always took running backs to the next level and right after Joshua Kelley, Charbonnet was his next great one. With most of the team returning for 2022 the expectations and stakes would get even larger.