Inside The Trenches: UCLA offensive line paves way to win vs. rival USC

Let’s take a look inside the trenches of UCLA’s offensive line play and how they were able to lead Joshua Kelley to a career day against USC.

UCLA brought back the Victory Bell to Westwood after a three-year drought vs. USC. Coming into the game last of the Pac-12 South they had a lot riding on this game for pride, recruiting and keeping their hated rival from being bowl-eligible. They did it without the flashes of a typical Chip Kelly offense in college, they earned it “In The Trenches”.

The UCLA victory came on the legs and vision of Joshua Kelley and most importantly the play and cohesiveness of the offensive line. Kelley, a UC-Davis transfer played the game of his life, rushing for 298 yards. The total was the third-best rushing performance in school history.

Kelley’s performance comes as a result of the physical play of the offensive line who played their best game all year when it mattered most. The group of five featuring Andre James, Michael Alves, Boss Tagaloa, Chris Murray and Jake Burton were the reason Kelley had 40 carries for 298 yards along with two touchdowns at the Rose Bowl.

They played like they wanted to take over the game themselves with the way they block through the whistle. They were able to zone block and seal off Trojan defenders to give Kelley the edge so he could run off of their hips and take off down the field.

The interior of Tagaloa, Murray and Alves did a solid job of being physical at the point of contact running through their man and not creating a stalemate, giving Kelley a hole to run through up the gut.

They did an exceptional job in the counter and trap game when their number was called to pull, Murray did a great job of kicking out the last defender on the edge ultimately giving Kelley a seal to run through the alley on a crucial 61-yard run.

Tackles James and Burton had a solid day winning a lot of their battles on their respective islands. They played an important part as well containing the USC pass rush and holding them to only a sack throughout the day keeping Wilton Speight’s jersey clean.