One massive hurdle cleared, Dorian Thompson-Robinson would like UCLA to achieve considerably larger

On a night time of finest hits for Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the topper could possibly have been a hit shipped by the UCLA quarterback.

As a tipped pass fluttered into the air, Thompson-Robinson lowered his helmet into a defensive lineman’s stomach to dislodge the ball so it was not intercepted.

The veteran quarterback celebrated the very first pass separation of his occupation Friday evening by waving his arms horizontally to signal incomplete.

“That was actually my participate in of the match,” he reported Monday.

There were being tons of candidates.

Thompson-Robinson turned the Rose Bowl into his own jukebox in the course of the Bruins’ 40-32 victory in excess of then-No. 15 Washington, hurdling a person defender and sidestepping an additional. The latter defender collided with a Huskies teammate as Thompson-Robinson scooted past them into the finish zone, the unlucky duo slipping in a heap like foiled cartoon villains.

“When I saw the replay, it was like, ‘Ooh,’ ” UCLA security Stephan Blaylock said. “Like, excuse me!”

A spotlight show that involved four touchdowns (three passing, a person speeding) gained Thompson-Robinson the type of acclaim that had been reserved for other Pac-12 Conference quarterbacks right before Friday. Chargers large receiver Keenan Allen delivered a Twitter shout-out. ESPN gave Thompson-Robinson its “Heisman of the week.” The Pac-12 picked him as its offensive participant of the week.

Much more sizeable was what the performance meant for his group. UCLA’s eighth consecutive victory heading back again to last time vaulted the Bruins into the nationwide rankings for the very first time in 2022 and established up the major recreation of the Chip Kelly era. The No. 18 Bruins (5- general, 2- Pac-12) confront No. 11 Utah (4-1, 2-) on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl in what could be the upcoming move in a march towards the meeting title.

“Right now, we’re 5-,” Thompson-Robinson stated, “but 5- does not get you a championship ring.”

These are the video games that built Thompson-Robinson want to return for a fifth season after getting component of teams that posted 3 shedding information and certified for a bowl game canceled by a COVID-19 outbreak. The Utes were the very last team to defeat the Bruins, late past October when Thompson-Robinson was sidelined because of a hand harm.

Due to the fact the teams did not meet throughout the COVID-shortened 2020 year, Thompson-Robinson last confronted Utah in November 2019, when the Bruins arrived in Salt Lake Metropolis on a 3-recreation winning streak. They departed next a 49-3 beatdown.

“They kicked my butt about a several periods,” Thompson-Robinson stated, “so that is the very last memory I have, which is the very last taste I have in my mouth.”

UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson leaps above Washington Huskies linebacker Kamren Fabiculanan (13) for excess yardage through the 2nd quarter Friday at the Rose Bowl.

(Gina Ferazzi / VFAB)

The Bruins have not beaten Utah because 2015, dropping five consecutive online games in the series. But they’re only 4½-point underdogs against the defending Pac-12 champions Saturday thanks in massive component to the quarterback who’s on the verge of quite a few school information.

Thompson-Robinson needs four landing passes to crack Brett Hundley’s vocation record (75), 410 dashing yards to surpass John Sciarra’s profession quarterback hurrying record (1,813 yards), and 1,957 passing yards to supplant Cade McNown’s profession passing file (10,708).

He’s on tempo for his ideal year, completing a occupation-high 74.3% of his passes though averaging 242.2 passing yards for each activity and a staggering 7.2 yards for each have. He’s also thrown for 11 touchdowns with only one particular interception.

His substantial-hurdling act towards the Huskies thrilled lovers who remembered him unleashing a comparable move past season to cap an epic victory over USC. But it anxious the mentor who wants his most indispensable player to steer clear of harm.

“He’s experienced as several in which he’s been tackled as he’s made, so he’s probably batting .500 on the hurdles,” Kelly stated. “So I think it’s a truly feel, some things you simply cannot just take that instinctual detail away from individuals guys, and they’ve been critical plays for him. But he also has to know his finest capability is availability, and we want to maintain him on the discipline, so he’s gotta be mindful of that.”

Possibly it is just a 20-a thing expressing his adore of the activity.

“It reverts back to that, just being a small kid once again,” Thompson-Robinson claimed. “Everybody talks about possessing fun. People are the matters that make me have enjoyable on the discipline.”

There is been some hearth to go with the pleasurable. Soon after the video game, the quarterback was Dorian Unfiltered, conceding how he was pushed by the media’s disrespect for his unbeaten crew.

He chuckled when reminded of his outburst three days later.

“Last activity was definitely a minimal little bit of thoughts a lot more than many others, for confident,” he said.

Could possibly this stand for a new model of the quarterback who’s been around seemingly for good?

“We’ll see,” he said. “I guess we’ll have to discover out future week.”

It could be one much more smash in the collection of greatest hits.