The 2021 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Chip Kelly and competed as members of the South Division in the Pac-12 Conference. Entering this season, Nike became the new apparel sponsor for the team, replacing former supplier Under Armour, and the Bruins' football uniforms bore the Jordan Brand.
In August, UCLA announced that digital tickets would replace printed tickets for entry to all games at the Rose Bowl.
The Bruins finished their regular season with an 8–4 overall record, and accepted a bid to the Holiday Bowl, where they were due to face North Carolina State. However, just hours before game time, the Bruins withdrew from the bowl due to COVID-19 protocols in their program, and the bowl was canceled. Despite their season ending unexpectedly, the Bruins clinched their first winning season and bowl appearance since 2015 and 2017 respectively
Overall, the Bruins outscored their opponents by a combined total of 438 to 321 for the season.
Offseason
Incoming transfers The Bruins added 8 players via transfer during the offseason:
LB Devin Aupiu – Notre Dame WR Kam Brown – Texas A&M RB Zach Charbonnet – Michigan QB Ethan Garbers – Washington LB Jordan Genmark Heath – Notre Dame (graduate) DB Cameron Johnson – North Texas (graduate) LB Ale Kaho – Alabama DL Jay Toia – USC
Preseason
Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Shea Pitts
Preseason award watchlists Greg Dulcich (Lombardi Award, John Mackey Award) Quentin Lake (Lott IMPACT Trophy) Kyle Philips (Paul Hornung Award) Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Davey O'Brien Award, Maxwell Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award)
Preseason All-Pac-12 team
Kyle Philips (WR), First Team Greg Dulcich (TE), First Team Sean Rhyan (OL), First Team Dorian Thompson-Robinson (QB), Honorable Mention Brittain Brown (RB), Honorable Mention Sam Marrazzo (OL), Honorable Mention Otito Ogbonnia (DL), Honorable Mention Caleb Johnson (LB), Honorable Mention Qwuantrezz Knight (DB), Honorable Mention Quentin Lake (DB), Honorable Mention Stephen Blaylock (DB), Honorable Mention Nicholas Barr-Mira (PK), Honorable Mention
Personnel
Coaching staff
Name Position Year at UCLA Alma mater (year)Chip KellyHead coach4thNew Hampshire (1990)Justin FryeOffensive coordinatorOffensive Line4thIndiana (2006)Ryan GundersonQuarterbacks1stOregon State (2007)Jerry AzzinaroDefensive coordinator4thAmerican International College (1981)DeShaun FosterRunning backs5thUCLA (2014)Jerry NeuheiselWide receivers4thUCLA (2015)Johnny NansenDefensive line2ndWashington State (1997)Don PellumInside linebackers4thOregon (1985)Brian NorwoodDefensive backsPassing game coordinatorAssistant head coach2ndHawaiʻi (1988)Jason KaufusiOutside linebackers3rdUtah (2004)Derek SageTight endsSpecial teams4thCal State Northridge (2003) Ikaika Malloe was hired on December 22 as analyst for UCLA through the Holiday Bowl, replacing Jason Kaufusi, who was hired away by Arizona. He will be a defensive assistant coach next season. Chad Kauha'aha'a was hired on December 24 as analyst for UCLA through the Holiday Bowl.
Roster
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Schedule
Game summaries
vs Hawaii
In his fourth season at UCLA, head coach Chip Kelly earned his first nonconference victory and first season-opening win with the Bruins after defeating Hawaii, 44–10. Prior to this, he had been 0–6 in nonconference games, including 0–4 against Group of Five schools, at UCLA. Running back Zach Charbonnet, a fresh transfer from Michigan, ran for 106 yards and three touchdowns in his UCLA debut. Charbonnet carried the ball six times and scored on runs of 21, 47 and again on 21 yards, helping the Bruins establish a 31–3 lead early in the second quarter. With the Bruins ahead by a wide margin, he did not carry the ball again in the game. Brittain Brown ran for 78 yards on 13 attempts, combining with Charbonnet to run for 184 yards and four touchdowns.
The Bruins built a 44–3 lead early in the second half before sending in the reserves. In all, UCLA's defense held Hawaii to 269 total yards and without a touchdown until late in the third quarter. Bruins linebacker Ale Kaho blocked a punt and teammate David Priebe recovered the ball in the endzone for a touchdown, which also ended the Rainbow Warriors’ streak of 154 game without a blocked punt, which had been the longest in the country. Dorian Thompson-Robinson was 10-of-20 passing for 130 yards and did not commit a turnover for the Bruins.
The game was played before an announced crowd of 32,982, the second-smallest ever at a UCLA home game at the Rose Bowl, ahead of only the 32,513 for an Oregon State game in November 1992.
vs No. 16 LSU
In a prime-time nationally televised game, the Bruins defeated the No. 16 LSU Tigers, 38–27. It was the first time since 2017 that UCLA began the season 2–0. Thompson-Robinson completed 9 of 16 passes for 260 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Charbonnet had his second consecutive 100-yard game, finishing with 11 rushes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Brown also ran for 96 yards on 17 attempts and a fourth-quarter score.
UCLA evened the score 7–7 in the first quarter after Thompson-Robinson threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to tight end Greg Dulcich, who had three catches for 117 yards in the game. The Bruins took the lead for good on a 12-yard touchdown run by Charbonnet with 9:49 left in the second quarter. In the third quarter, UCLA's Caleb Johnson intercepted LSU's Max Johnson and returned it 34 yards to the Tigers' 17. The Bruins scored in three plays on a Thompson-Robinson 12-yard pass to Chase Cota for a 21–10 lead. Midway into the fourth quarter, Thompson-Robinson threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Philips to make it 38–20, virtually sealing the game.
The Bruins held the Tigers to 48 yards rushing on 1.9 yards per carry. Johnson was 26 of 46 passing for 330 yards with three touchdowns and one interception while being pressured into mistakes by the UCLA defense. The win over LSU was the first time in 13 years that a Pac-12 team beat a ranked opponent from the Southeastern Conference since the Bruins defeated Tennessee in 2008. The Rose Bowl attendance of 68,123 more than doubled the crowd from the previous week in the season opener. The win pushed UCLA into the national rankings at No. 16 in both the Associated Press and the Coaches Poll. It was the first time the Bruins were ranked since 2017.
vs Fresno State
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener passed for 455 yards and threw the winning touchdown with 14 seconds left in the game to upset the Bruins 40–37. Limiping from an injured right hip, Haener led a six-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in a winning throw to Jalen Cropper for their fourth straight win over UCLA. The Bruins trailed 23–10 at halftime, but rallied in a game that had four lead changes in the final 7:27. UCLA went up 37–33 with 54 seconds left after Thompson-Robinson threw a 15-yard touchdown to Philips.
Fresno State focused on stopping UCLA's running game, holding Bruins' running backs Charbonnet and Brown to a 42 combined yards rushing on 2.8 yards per carry. UCLA's offense was limited to 16 plays in the first half, while Haener completed 21 passes by halftime. Down 26–17 in the fourth quarter, the Bruins came back after forcing two fumbles in a -minute span in the middle of the quarter, converting both into touchdowns for a 30–26 lead. The Bulldogs regained the lead after Haener's 19-yard touchdown pass to Erik Brooks put them ahead 33–30 with 2:55 remaining. After the play, Haener was on the ground, grimacing in pain, after suffering numerous hits in the contest.
Thompson-Robinson threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns, and he also led UCLA with 67 yards rushing on 13 carries. The Bulldogs' attention to the run opened up one-on-one coverage in their pass defense, contributing to Philips' seven receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow receiver Kam Brown finished with five catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Charbonnet ran for two touchdowns. On defense, the Bruins surrendered 569 total yards and 32 first downs. Haener finished 38-of-53 passing and threw two touchdowns. Cropper had 14 catches for 141 yards and teammate Josh Kelly added eight receptions for 120 yards. Ronnie Rivers ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
At Stanford
Thompson-Robinson threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to lead UCLA to a 35–24 road win over Stanford. Ten seconds after the Cardinal tied the game at 21, he threw a tie-breaking 75-yard score to Philips. Thompson-Robinson later left the game due to a shoulder injury, but returned on the next play to throw a five-yard touchdown to Philips, sealing the outcome with 2:35 remaining in the game. Thompson-Robinson also ran for two touchdowns in the contest.
Stanford won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. However, they began the game with five consecutive three-and-out drives, finally producing a first down on their sixth drive in the middle of the second quarter. Philips had a 59-yard punt return in the first quarter to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Thompson-Robinson. The Bruins went up 14–0 on a short running score by Charbonnet. Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee began finding his receivers, throwing a 19-yard touchdown to Elijah Higgins in the second quarter. Thompson-Robinson put UCLA up by 14 again with another touchdown run late in the quarter. McKee hooked up with Higgins on a 56-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and Stanford tied the game early in the fourth quarter after McKee connected with Bryce Farrell on 52-yard touchdown.
Thompson-Robinson completed 18 of his 29 passes for 251 yards. Charbonnet had 118 yards rushing, and Brittain Brown added 66. UCLA's defense held Stanford to 67 yards rushing on 22 carries for an average of three yards per carry. The win was the Bruins' second in the last 14 meetings against the Cardinal.
vs Arizona State
UCLA lost 42–23 to Arizona State, as both teams vied for a 2–0 conference record and sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 South. The Bruins were down 32–23 early in the fourth quarter when Thompson-Robinson was stopped for a one-yard loss on fourth and one from the Sun Devils' two-yard line. Arizona State followed with an 11-play, 96-yard touchdown drive that took 6:52. UCLA committed 64 of their 89 penalty yards in the second half, and they were shutout in the second half for the first time since 2019 against Utah.
In the first quarter, the teams limited each other to a field goal before a high-scoring second quarter. After Sun Devils quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Pearsall, the two reconnected on their following for a 54-yard score, giving Arizona State their first lead of the game with 2:44 remaining in the half. The Sun Devils fumbled a punt return before the half ended, which the Bruins recovered, allowing Nicholas Barr-Mira to kick a field goal as time expired. Early in the third quarter, Arizona State extended its lead to 32–23 on a 49-yard touchdown run by Rachaad White and a two-point conversion. UCLA was scoreless on its last five possessions of the game after scoring on five of seven to start the game.