LOS ANGELES >> UCLA defensive coordinator Bill McGovern is “feeling better,” according to coach Chip Kelly, after McGovern missed Saturday’s win over Stanford due to illness.

Kelly added that McGovern, who is in his first season with the Bruins, was back in the office on Sunday for meetings and game planning with the defense. McGovern was not on the field for practice on Monday morning.

Defensive analyst Clancy Pendergast filled in for McGovern for Saturday’s game. Pendergast has 27 years of coaching experience, which includes 16 years in the NFL and has previously served as a defensive coordinator for USC and Cal.

Kelly rattled off a list of names of players who offer valuable feedback in games, such as linebackers Darius Muasau and Laiatu Latu, defensive back Stephan Blaylock, defensive linemen Gary Smith III and Jacob Sykes.

No defense is autonomous, but the players’ input routinely has value during games.

“There’s a process of what we do on the sidelines that’s very orderly,” said Kelly on Monday. “Each position goes with their position coach. All their position coaches are on the field, that’s why our coordinator is in the box. Then we relay the information and discuss it on the defensive side of the ball and can implement anything we need to.”

No. 10 UCLA’s defense allowed just 270 yards of total offense against Stanford on Saturday and forced one fumble. Four players recorded a sack and three players combined for quarterback hurries.

Kelly supports Big Ten move

Kelly has been critical of evening games this season because it forces the team to wait around all day before playing and also limits exposure of West Coast players due to time differences.

He said on Monday that UCLA’s upcoming move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten could be a solution to the latter problem.

“That’s why I’ll commend our administration about the move to the Big Ten,” Kelly said after weighing in very little on UCLA’s upcoming move until this point.

“There’s a huge monetary gain by going to the Big Ten, but I think it’s the exposure that our student-athletes get and that’s what our goal is all the time,” he said. “But the main thing has to be about our student-athletes and the more exposure we can get our student-athletes by moving to that league is a really cool deal.”

Thompson-Robinson, Vaughns appear healthy

Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson visited the medical tent during Saturday’s game but doesn’t appear to have suffered any serious injury.

Thompson-Robinson spoke with media after the game. He looked fluid as he participated in individual drills at practice Monday morning. He was unavailable to speak with media after practice due to a conflicting midterm exam.

Linebacker JonJon Vaughns also participated in individual drills as usual on Monday after leaving the Stanford game with an unspecified injury in the third quarter.

Kelly said on Monday that Vaughns was “available.”

Despite leaving the game, Vaughns logged six tackles in the game, which tied him with Darius Muasau for most tackles by a UCLA player.

CFP rankings on deck

The first College Football Rankings are scheduled to come out today at 4 p.m. The selection committee will rank 25 teams, and UCLA, which pulled in at No. 10 in the most recent AP College Football rankings, is projected to be listed.

Bruins running back Zach Charbonnet ranks eighth in the nation in rushing yards with 964, and the offense as a whole is ranked ninth nationally in total offense with just more than 500 yards per game.