Chip Kelly era at UCLA got off to a disappointing start with the loss vs. Cincinnati. Despite jumping out to an early 10–0 lead after one quarter of play, UCLA was slowed by the Bearcats for most of the remainder of the game. There was some brilliance rushing the ball by freshman running back Kazmeir Allen, who scored a 74-yard touchdown in the 3rd, but the pass game never seemed to click (with only 162 yards in the air and no touchdowns passing), several receivers dropped critical passes, and the offense struggled for the majority of the game. Additionally, starting quarterback Wilton Speight suffered a back injury in the 2nd quarter and had to be replaced with true freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson. A fumble by Thompson-Robinson deep in UCLA's own territory in the 4th quarter led to a costly safety, which ultimately swung the game in favor of Cincy. Meanwhile, Cincinnati's offense, led by a freshman Desmond Ridder at quarterback after starting signal-caller Hayden Moore went off with an early injury, had fewer total yards (304 against UCLA's 306) than the Bruins but dominated time of possession. The "nail in the coffin" for UCLA was perhaps a penalty for 12 men on the field against the Bruin defense, which came on 4th down during a critical goal line stand; this allowed Cincinnati to eventually score a touchdown rather than kick a field goal. In all, the UCLA team was too inconsistent on the day and made too many crucial blunders to get the win against a talented Bearcats team that, though initially projected at the beginning of the year to be rather weak, would actually go on to win 10 games. After the game, Coach Kelly said in an interview that he intended to remain positive despite the loss. at Oklahoma Fresno State at Colorado Yet another disappointing Bruins loss led to UCLA equaling their worst start (0-4) since 1971, despite signs of improvement in the 1st half. Another lackluster performance by starting quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson led to many calling for the true freshman to be benched by Coach Kelly. Washington UCLA came close to upsetting the #10-ranked Huskies, but ultimately fell short as they started a season winless through 5 games for the first time since 1943. at California Giving reason for optimism to both players and fans alike, the Bruins finally earned their first victory of the season by