Kelly, Bruins Complimentary Following Loss
PASADENA -- After losing, the UCLA Bruins came before microphones and rolling tapes humbled after dropping their second game of the season, to Arizona State.
The Sun Devils, playing the heel of underdogs heading into Saturday night, scored a season high in points as ASU rolled past UCLA 42-23 in Pasadena.
UCLA head coach Chip Kelly offered his praise for the job the Sun Devils did following the loss in his postgame press conference.
"They did a good job. You’ve got to give them credit, first and foremost, and (quarterback) Jayden [Daniels] is obviously the most athletic kid who we’ve faced so far this season, in terms of being able to escape. We try and be conscious of our rush lanes, because if he does squirt loose, he could hurt you. Give them credit," Kelly said.
"Their line played really well. They did a really good job of protecting Jayden. When things did break down, we did a good job of getting after him, and he made some plays with his feet.”
Bruins linebacker Jordan Genmark-Heath also praised Daniels and spoke about how tough it was to get him down.
He said, "Obviously, every time you play anyone that’s a dual threat like in this case you have to plan a different way every single week. There’s always that opportunity where he will take off and run for 20 yards. I know every single defense feels the same way when they play us with Dorian (Thompson-Robinson). Just part of the scheme. We’ve just got to execute better and take on next week.”
Genmark-Heath also spoke about UCLA giving up big plays to ASU, and pointed out their talented receiving corps.
"We have to be responsible on each level of the ball," he said. "When we pressure and send seven instead of eight, we have to get home. We put our DBs in compromised positions. As you know, it’s hard to cover especially good receivers like that when they get in the open field. We just have to do our jobs in all facets."
The Sun Devils move on to play Stanford, while UCLA will look to rebound against Arizona.