The USC hangover<\/a>. In 2012, the conference added a regular season on Thanksgiving weekend, or after the USC-UCLA game. There was too much down time in the schedule while other teams were all over the networks, playing critical games leading up to the conference championship weekend. The lag time was thought to be costly for the conference\u2019s national brand.<\/p>\nNow, including this upcoming weekend, it has been a decade of playing that \u201cafter USC\u201d game. Due to calendar issues, there was not one in 2013 or 2015. That means seven games, \u201cpost USC.\u201d The Bruins are 1-6. They are 0-3 under Kelly.<\/p>\n
It could be that getting so emotionally ramped up for the crosstown rivalry game takes a lot out of the Bruins. Kelly likes to say they operate \u201cin a submarine,\u201d and maintain week to week focus on all things football and little else. That may be true of the coaching staff, but it is not always true of the players. They live in an environment with the crosstown rivals that the coaches do not. The players live college student lives. They do things like gather to watch a UCLA basketball against Gonzaga that Kelly did not even know was happening. So just maybe it is not a crazy thought to suggest it takes more for the players to regroup after the USC game than it does the coaching staff.<\/p>\n
Kelly was dismissive of such a notion. \u201cI think everybody is trying to find a cause and correlation,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe we should just get a bye after the USC game,\u201d he added sarcastically. \u201cIf that was what it was about then you would already know the outcome of the game and we shouldn\u2019t play the game. You guys, (the media), write narratives. We\u2019re practicing football on a Wednesday.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted about the 1-6 stat, and the 0-3 for him, \u201cYou can use any statistic you want.\u201d Kelly famously spent weeks relaying that the reason the pass defense was giving up so many yards was because statistically, UCLA was shutting down all opponents in the rush game. That premise ended when he was presented with the statistic that the majority of teams they played were in the bottom half of the country in rushing yards, because they just weren\u2019t good at running the ball. Statistics can be a tricky thing if not used properly, as Kelly likes to remind us.<\/p>\n
A statistic that Wilcox likes is the number zero, as in zero positive Covid tests. Just a few weeks ago they had to move the USC game due to Berkley and school protocols. He said Tuesday the team is completely healthy in terms of the virus.<\/p>\n
His Bears started 1-5 this season but have won three of the last four, including a blowout of rival Stanford last week. Two more wins and they are guaranteed bowl eligibility. He said his players know what is at stake. \u201cI guess the coaches live in a bit of a bubble,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the players sure don\u2019t, not with the devices they hold in their hands. So, everybody\u2019s well aware that each game we play we need to win.\u201d Wilcox said with the players already knowing what is at stake in the big picture he and the staff do not spend much time talking to the team about it.<\/p>\n
Wilcox said the big preparation goes into defending UCLA\u2019s offense and Thompson-Robinson. \u201cHe\u2019s a very talented player,\u201d Wilcox said. “He can run it. He can throw it. And he buys time. He can extend the play. And he\u2019s done it for a long time.\u201d As for his defense, he said, \u201cI think our guys are excited for a challenge like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before we get to the excitement, there of course is the emotional tug that comes with every senior day. We know that Obi Eboh, Brittain Brown, Paul Grattan, Ethan Fernea, Jordan Genmark Heath, <\/strong>and Qwuantrezz Knight<\/strong> have used their six years of eligibility, including the Covid year allocation. Their names will be announced in a pre-game ceremony. Beyond that, it is a bit of a guessing game. Since players have until January 18th<\/sup> of next year to make their final decisions on whether to return or apply to the NFL. Kelly said any senior who wants to walk during the ceremony Saturday night can do that, even if there is a chance they may later decide to return to UCLA.<\/p>\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>