Offseason edition looking back on the 2023 season

The 2023 season would be filled with a lot of hype. With Dorian Thompson-Robinson leaving for the NFL, Chip Kelly was able to shock the world and flip Dante Moore. Who was committed to Oregon but was offered a chance to start right away at UCLA. This gave UCLA tremendous upside, grabbing one of the best quarterback recruits in the nation. Kelly would start Ethan Garbers but go with a quarterback by committee in game one and Dante Moore did not disappoint versus Coastal Carolina.

The Bruins started out the season 3-0 and were back in the top 25 as they were ranked No. 22 as they went into the Utah game. A game that UCLA struggled on offense and lost 14-7. They would struggle with consistency for the rest of the season and a promising 3-0 start turned into a 7-5 finish and an LA Bowl appearance. A game in which they would beat Boise State 35-22 in what would be Chip Kelly’s last game coaching the Bruins. He would go on to leave for the Ohio State offensive coordinator position leaving UCLA in a tough spot.

Moore had an up and down freshman season. It started off well and things looked to be great for the future but then it started to struggle as the season went on. He only completed 53.5% of his passes and had 11 touchdown passes and nine interceptions on the season. Consistency was hard to come by with a quarterback by committee going on with Garbers. It was an interesting all-around season and left many people very confused from start to finish.

The positive on the season is after many years of a rough defense. UCLA had a top 20 unit this season under D’Anton Lynn. They only gave up 18.4 points per game, good for 14th in the nation. Laiatu Latu became a star with 21.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks becoming a 1st round pick. Gabriel and Grayson Murphy wreaked havoc in the backfield together and Darius Muasau became a good signal caller. Lynn would parlay that into a nice contract offer from USC breaking this team up and into the Deshaun Foster era.