UCLA Football: Chip Kelly Explains Bruins Response To Tenuous Fate In Surprise W Over USC

Amidst not-insignificant chatter surrounding the long-term job security of both clubs' head coaches, your UCLA Bruins pulled off a surprise upset victory over the USC Trojans, on USC's home turf, in this year's rivalry week matchup today. 

The Bruins' defense did a lot of the damage, causing three critical turnovers that yielded scores on the other end. UCLA ultimately won 38-20. Their record for the year is now 7-4.

Did all the chatter over the past week about Bruins head coach Chip Kelly's possible firing, first floated in a Bruin Report Online piece, affect Kelly's preparation or his team's readiness at all? And was it enough to save Chip Kelly's job? 

With regards to the first question, Kelly for one doesn't think the talk made much of an impact, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times writes.

“Didn’t bother this team one bit,” Kelly said, “and you could see by the performance today.”

When a UCLA official told Kelly about the piece, athletic director Martin Jarmond had a pretty definitive dispute of the rumor.

"I said, ‘All right, let’s go back to work,’" Kelly relayed. “I don’t pay attention to that stuff. I don’t read that stuff, I’ve never seen that stuff — I talk about being the most prepared and the least distracted.

“Then, why would I let something distract me? And if that’s the case, then I’m a fool ‘cause I’m not doing what I tell our players to do.”

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