UCLA Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson Looking To Continue Strong Season Against Oregon

As a high school junior in April 2017, Dorian Thompson-Robinson committed to play quarterback at UCLA. The announcement was considered a coup for a Bruins program that had gone 4-8 the previous season. After all, Thompson-Robinson at the time was the nation’s 36th-ranked recruit in his class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

More than five years later, after dealing with a coaching change before he even enrolled and enduring many more losses than wins, Thompson-Robinson is still at UCLA. And he is showing the promise he displayed in high school for a team that’s exceeded expectations.

UCLA is ninth in the latest Associated Press poll, its highest ranking in eight years. The Bruins are 6-0 for the first time since 2005 and 3-0 in the Pac-12 Conference for the first time since 2009.

On Saturday, UCLA will attempt to keep its undefeated season intact on the road against No. 10 Oregon, the former home of current Bruins coach Chip Kelly. The Bruins haven’t won at Oregon since 2004 and had gone just 18-25 in Kelly’s first four seasons before turning things around this season. Still, Thompson-Robinson claims UCLA’s undefeated start hasn’t surprised him even though the Bruins were unranked in the AP poll entering the season.

“This is right where I thought we’d be at this point in the season,” Thompson-Robinson told reporters this week. “You go into a bye week 6-0, coming off the bye week you’ve got a really good team on the national spotlight. You couldn’t ask for anything more. This is where I personally envisioned this team being. I couldn’t be more grateful to be here right now.”

This season, Thompson-Robinson is second in the nation in completion percentage (74.8%) and fifth in passing efficiency with a 180.6 rating. He has thrown for 1,510 yards, 15 touchdowns and only two interceptions, ran for 231 yards and four touchdowns and emerged as a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate.

As of now, the betting odds show Thompson-Robinson is far behind Heisman favorites such as Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, and Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, but he could close the gap with a victory and strong performance against Oregon. UCLA has had only one Heisman winner: quarterback Gary Beban in 1967.

For Thompson-Robinson, being in the Heisman conversation and playing for an undefeated team are welcome after enduring a challenging college career.

In November 2017, during Thompson-Robinson’s senior year at Bishop Gorman High School, UCLA fired coach Jim Mora after a loss to USC dropped the Bruins to 5-6. Still, a day later, Thompson-Robinson Tweeted “I’m 100000000% UCLA.”

Thompson-Robinson stuck to his word after the Bruins later that month hired Kelly, who had been fired from his last job with the Philadelphia Eagles in December 2015 but who had also been a highly successful college coach. At Oregon from 2009 to 2012, Kelly went 46-7, won a Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl and lost in the national title game following the 2010 season.

At UCLA, Kelly didn’t have the same immediate success as the Bruins went 3-9, 4-8 and 3-4 in his first three seasons. The Bruins showed some improvement last season, going 8-4 and winning their final three games by an average of 27 points per game.

During his third year as a starter last season, Thompson-Robinson completed 62.2% of his passes for 2,409 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. Some had speculated Thompson-Robinson would enter the NFL draft, but he decided to return to college, which now looks like a smart choice.

Thompson-Robinson, who turns 23 next month, has thrown a UCLA record 76 career touchdown passes. He is also third in school history in career total offensive yards (10,463) and fourth in career passing yards (9,051).

In UCLA’s last game on Oct. 8, Thompson-Robinson threw for four touchdowns and ran for another, leading the Bruins to a 42-32 victory over then-No. 11 Utah. After a bye week, the Bruins are back in action and in the national spotlight this week as ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Oregon for the game, which will be broadcast on Fox at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

On Saturday, Thompson-Robinson will make his 42nd career start, second in UCLA history behind Cade McNown, who started 44 games from 1995 to 1998. The Bruins are 6 1/2 –point underdogs, per Caesars Sportsbook, to an Oregon team that has won five consecutive games after losing, 49-3, to No. 1 Georgia in its season opener.

“I think it’s going to be a special moment for everybody,” Thompson-Robinson told reporters this week. “We live for games like this when you get a sold-out crowd, it’s on College GameDay, anything and everything you can ask for it’s going to be at this game. We live for moments like this. It’s going to be really fun.”