Chip Kelly calls UCLA's defense outstanding against Washington State

UCLA head coach Chip Kelly watched his defense be up to the task this past weekend for its game versus Washington State. The Cougars were held to a season-low 17 points as the Bruins pulled out a 25-17 victory.

Kelly was complementary of the UCLA defense during his Monday press conference, especially with the job they did against Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward.

“I thought our defense played outstanding,” Kelly said. “The effort that that whole group displayed throughout the entire game. It was at all levels. I think the back end played really well in terms of coverage against some really good receivers. I thought our guys did a great job of containing a very mobile quarterback. Cam presented a lot of problems for most people with his feet. But he was a guy that scrambles to throw. That’s when a lot of their big plays occurred, especially in the first four games. They did a good job of containing the quarterback, obviously shut down the run game. Kind of made them a one dimensional operation. Defensively really, really impressed with the effort.”

The UCLA defense allowed only 216 total yards to the Cougars offense as Ward threw two interceptions. The dynamic signal-caller was 19 of 39 for 197 yards and one score on the day.

Washington State also only rushed for 12 total yards on the ground as the Bruins defense was dominant in the run game.

One disappointing moment came when linebacker Choe Bryant-Strother was called for targeting. He will now miss the first half of this weekend’s game versus Oregon State.

Both the Cougars and the Beavers have been left out of this latest round of college sports conference realignment, and Kelly thinks that is a “travesty.”

“I talked to (Washington State AD) Pat Chun a little bit,” Kelly said postgame. “I think it’s a travesty that Washington State’s not in a conference. That to me is a joke. That’s a really, really good football team and a school that’s had a bunch of tradition. And it’s the same thing with Oregon State. The fact those two schools aren’t in a Power Five conference or won’t be in a Power Five conference next year is… people should figure it out.”