Chip Kelly did not mince words, and he looked, at least for a second, ready to blast the NCAA over its absentee leadership over major college football.

The UCLA head coach said it is a “travesty” and “a joke” that Washington State and Oregon State have so far been left out of the latest round of conference realignment.

As things stand, the 2023 season will be the final year the two schools can claim to belong to a “Power” conference. UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington leave for the Big Ten next summer. Four other Pac-12 schools head to the Big 12.

The next steps for the remaining Pac-2 are still unclear.

Kelly shared a moment with Utah’s Kyle Whittingham two weeks ago where the coaches reflected on their upcoming split. After UCLA’s 25-17 win over No. 13 Washington State, Kelly was asked if he had any kind of similar exchange with Washington State officials or coaches.

“I talked to Pat Chun a little bit. I think it’s a travesty that Washington State’s not in a conference. That to me is a joke. That’s a really, really good football team and a school that’s had a bunch of tradition,” Kelly said. “And it’s the same thing with Oregon State. The fact those two schools aren’t in a Power Five conference or won’t be in a Power Five conference next year is… people should figure it out.

“There’s a lot of really smart people in college athletics. But if we let those two schools not end up in a Power Five, then shame on us. That’s just not right.”

Some might find Kelly’s words ring hollow. UCLA and USC were the first schools to defect two years ago.

But Kelly also isn’t responsible for the string of bad decisions that led the conference to this point, and he wasn’t the man who pulled the trigger on a conference switch for UCLA. He has been outspoken on multiple occasions about the collapse of the Pac-12 and the disappointment that brings.

He was passionate again in the postgame.

“You’re talking about two nationally-ranked football teams that do it the right way,” Kelly said. “I’ve got a ton of respect for both those programs and I hope things work out for them because they deserve to play football at the highest level because they can play football at the highest level.”

Added Kelly: “I’m not going to talk about the NCAA. We’ll just let that go as it is.”

For Washington State, Saturday’s defeat marked the first loss of the season. The Cougars hold two top-25 victories, and they likely will remain in the AP poll when it’s updated on Sunday. (At least, they should. UCLA was right on the cusp this week.)

There are legal battles that need to be settled and things that need to be determined for Washington State and Oregon State going forward before we know where they’ll ultimately end up.

Kelly probably won’t be the last coach to stump for them as the Pac-12 conference slate carries on.