No. 18 UCLA scored a statement win over No. 11 Utah on Saturday. The defending Pac-12 champions came to the Rose Bowl as a favorite over what was a 5-0 UCLA squad. The Bruins had beaten then-No. 15 Washington a week before, but this was viewed as the revelatory game in UCLA’s opening act of the year.

What everyone learned was that Dorian Thompson-Robinson is not to be overlooked, and UCLA is not to be underestimated. The Bruins walked away with a 42-32 win to move to 6-0. It’s the best start for the program since 2005 and ninth straight victory going back to last season.

After the game, coach Chip Kelly met with reporters to talk about the performance, about Thompson-Robinson, about motivation, and much more.

Here’s everything Kelly said, with video of the press conference below.

On the team playing better each week

“I think they had a great week of training. They understand that how you train during the week is how you play on Saturday. These guys have really started to figure that out. We had confidence going into the game. Our confidence was based on demonstrated ability. They trained at a really high level this week, and when you are playing six games into the season and it’s your best week of training, those are the results. The tough thing is that you can’t replicate that every week, or at least, that’s the challenge. So those guys have got to understand that. I told them that if you fall in love with the process, the process will love you back. And that is what was on display tonight.”

On playing well on offense and on defense

“And special teams. Our return game did a really, really nice job. I think in all phases, and to be a good football team, you are going to need all phases. And I think they’ve handled it — we have always talked about three things happen during a game. Momentum swings, adversity, and just random acts. And in losing (Stephen Blaylock) early, our guys didn’t miss a beat. He is the leader for us on the back end, but he’s out, he’s out. So he is out for the rest of the game, so who is the next man up? Credit to that group on the back end. I thought they did a really nice job against an outstanding quarterback. I’ve got all the respect in the world for Cam Rising.”

On being happy for the team

“That’s what it is about. How much work you put in. The great thing about football is that you can’t fake it. Once you get across the white line, pretenders get exposed. You have to put the work in. And it’s hard. The best thing this team does … is every day. And the hardest thing they do is every day. They come to work every single day, and it is paying off for them on Saturdays. It’s really cool to watch that. You see it kind of morph in front of your face. It’s really cool.”

On Dorian Thompson-Robinson becoming the program’s all-time touchdown leader

“It’s pretty cool for what Dorian has done, the work that he has put in. I think people don’t realize if you don’t see him on a daily basis how important being good is, it just takes a lot for a quarterback. There is way more than just films and meetings and all those other things. There is so much work that you have to do. He has invested a ton in himself and he’s reaping the rewards of that. Really happy for him, seeing how he has grown as a person and how he’s grown as a leader. It’s cool to watch. It is well-deserved. When you start to think about the quarterbacks and the history of UCLA – that is a pretty cool list to be on. So I’m really happy for Dorian and it is well-deserved.”

On getting better

“I think we’ve gotten better each week. The cool part about this group is that our goal is to be the most prepared team and the least distracted team. I don’t think that any of us are governed by the fear of what other people say. It is a tough society nowadays, with likes and everybody, do they like this or do they like that? Just go play football and that’s the fun part. The best part about football is football, and our kids really enjoy playing football and that is what you saw on display today.

I don’t see a marked improvement. I saw a really good football team last spring. I saw a really good football team in Week 1, and I see a really good football team in Week 6. I think that we have gotten better, incrementally, from Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3 to Week 4 because we are all a byproduct of our experiences. But markedly, that would not be a word that is in my vocabulary.”

On if Thompson-Robinson is playing his best football now

“Did you see him play in the Coliseum last year? When he threw for four (touchdowns) and ran for two? Or the year before, where he was 30 for 35 against them? He has had a lot of really good games. I think that some of us have a selective memory when it comes to Dorian, but I don’t. I appreciate every day that he plays here and every day that I get a chance to coach him.”

On whether scorelines that have been closer than the games have been over the last two weeks bothers him

“Do you know who Herm Edwards is? Herm had a great quote. ‘You play to win the game.’ That’s all that counts.”

On Zach Charbonnet

“Zach is our workhorse. The work ethic and dedication, the physicality that he plays with, you feel really confident in handing him the ball because it’s always going to be a positive result when you give him the football. Again, he is another guy that, what you see on Saturday is what we see every day with him. He has done a tremendous job and we are very fortunate to have him.

“I think he has taken a new step every game that he has been here, and that is the great thing about Zach. He strives to get better on a daily basis and I think we see that all the time.”

On how to keep momentum during a bye week

“Well, we have an improvement week coming up. We’re not playing next Saturday. And I think one of the toughest things to do with any team is to kind of replicate what you are doing. I think that it goes back to us personally just embracing the process and coming back to work. I know these guys will do that. They have been great for six (weeks). We’ve got challenges coming up. There are some really good teams still left on our schedule. We’re gonna have to go on the road. We’ve got six games left, three on the road and three at home. But we’ll enjoy this one. They have tomorrow off, and we’ll be back at it on Monday.”

On if they saw anything to help set up the long touchdown to Logan Loya

“Yeah, we just made that slant adjustment at halftime and talked about putting that route in. It wasn’t in the gameplan but we added it at halftime. Dorian and Logan and the whole group executed it perfectly. But those are the types of kids that we have. We can put things in that we hadn’t run all week, and they can execute it, so the credit goes to those two.”

On the perception of Thompson-Robinson and whether he should get more attention

“That’s a great question, but I am the wrong guy to answer. I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff. I don’t know what he gets or what he doesn’t get. I apologize because I know that you are on a lot of those shows, I just don’t watch them. So I don’t know, but I do think that he should be in the talk as far as one of the better players in the country. I agree with that. But I don’t pay attention to that, so I apologize.”

On how it feels for him to get a big win and get some positive attention for UCLA

“It’s not about attention. The thing that makes me so happy is that our players have embraced the process and what they’re seeing is what they are getting out of it. That is the joy that you gain from it.

“When I watch our players have success, I see the smiles on their faces, I watch that celebration in the locker room, those are the things that really get us going as people and are the reasons that we get up in the morning and go to work. But for accolades and what is written in the newspaper — and I know that’s what you guys do and I’m not slighting that — I’d don’t really pay any attention to that. And if I preach to our players that we should be the most prepared and the least distracted, then I can’t get caught up with that stuff. I am really good at selective ignorance and there are just a lot of things that I don’t pay attention to.”

On the forced fumble by Darius Muasau

“Darius has been a great asset to this football team. He’s the captain in the middle there and does so many good things. I would add that his pick in the first half… when you play a really good football team like Washington last week and Utah this week, it really becomes about who can hold serve. We got two turnovers. Besides the one we had late when we gave it back to them, but those two turnovers were the difference. When we get out to a lead and then (they’re) playing catch-up.

“… I think those two momentum swings that he had in the game — his pick and then that fumble — were huge for us. He’s playing really, really good football for us right now.”

On the secondary holding up against a good Utah offense

“They did. Again, I’ve got all the respect in the world for Cam Rising. I think he’s done a tremendous job since he took over. What he did last year to take them to a conference championship, later the Rose Bowl against Ohio State, we knew we had our work cut out for us. He’s so smart. It’s tough. We try to disguise things and he picks those up. He has a lot on his plate, he checks a lot of plays at the line of scrimmage, he puts them in a lot of really good plays and gets them out of a lot of really bad plays. The way our secondary stepped up, especially after lost Blay, who’s the leader back there, was awesome to see. You’re able to see some young kids growing right in front of your face. That part’s pretty cool.”

On Thompson-Robinson playing with an edge

“I think all great athletes have some type of chip — no pun intended — on their shoulder. You watch ‘The Last Dance’ and listen to Michael Jordan talk about what he perceived were slights. The great athletes are intrinsically motivated, and whatever it is that gets them intrinsically motivated, I’m more than happy to do it. If it takes me trying to find some things that people sad bad about him, we’ll do that.

“He keeps playing like he’s playing right now, everybody’s gonna be pretty happy and smiling on Saturdays.”

On artificial motivation being a good thing or a bad thing

“That motivates them to train. That’s not a switch you flip when you walk into the game. Pretenders get exposed when you step across the line. If you didn’t work the way we worked this week, the results wouldn’t have been the same. You just can’t wake up Saturday morning pissed off. You’ve got to put your work in.

“It’s about putting the time and the effort in. If it’s any type of motivation, I don’t care what it is … if you think it’s a slight and that’s gonna motivate you, that’s a great thing. I’ll call him a name walking out of here if that’s gonna make him play better next week.”