Chip Kelly gives honest evaluation of Ethan Garbers, Dante Moore in season opener

UCLA saw two of its quarterbacks take the field Saturday in Ethan Garbers and Dante Moore for its 27-13 victory over Coastal Carolina in Saturday’s season opener. But neither one had a great performance.

There were plenty of high moments — including Moore’s 62-year touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 21-13 — but it was a very uneven performance for the quarterbacks group.

They combined to throw three interceptions, which Bruins head coach Chip Kelly broke down in his post-game press conference.

“I think Garbs wants the first one back,” Kelly said. “But the other two interceptions were protection issues and the quarterback’s getting hit while he’s throwing the ball. I don’t fault the quarterback in that. We’ll look at the film and figure out where the breakdown was and and how do we make sure we handle that a little bit better. The one Dante threw in the endzone was just a very bad call by the play caller.”

Garbers, who was the starter for the game, was 10 of 17 for 121 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Moore — who was the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies — was 7 of 12 for 143 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Garbers played most of the first three quarters with Moore leading only one drive in the second quarter. That drive led to UCLA’s second touchdown of the day and gave it a 14-3 lead.

It was 14-13 when Moore returned to the field in the fourth quarter. He found J.Michael Sturdivant for his 62-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive, and then led UCLA to two more field goals on the drive.

He also led a UCLA drive into Chanticleers territory before he was intercepted in the red zone.

“But I thought they performed and we’re excited about the next step,” Kelly said. “It’s a lot easier when the next steps coming after 1-0 not 0-1. Half the teams in the country lost today and half the teams in the country won today. We’re fortunate to be on that side of it. There’s a lot we got to work on. But it’s in a positive vein.”

While Collin Schlee did not get into the game versus Coastal Carolina, Kelly also said after the game that he will play in Week 2 against San Diego State.