UCLA vs. Utah College Football Predictions: Week 6
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The Bruins have another ranked opponent coming to Pasadena, and their status on the national stage is once again at stake.
No. 18 UCLA football (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) will play No. 11 Utah (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. The Bruins have won eight games in a row dating back to the end of last season, while the Utes have won 11 of their last 12 regular season conference contests and enter the matchup as 3.5-point favorites.
All Bruins is making its picks for who will win, what the score will be and how the game will play out, courtesy of Managing Editor Sam Connon and contributing writer Benjamin Royer.
Sam Connon, Managing Editor
Prediction: Utah 41, UCLA 38
For as long as I can remember – being someone who started following and eventually covering the Bruins in 2017 – the Utes have a major upper hand in this conference rivalry.
After narrowly dropping the 2016 matchup 52-45 at the Rose Bowl, UCLA lost to Utah in 2017 by a score of 48-17. Things didn’t change when Chip Kelly arrived in 2018, with the Bruins losing to the Utes 41-10. The 49-3 loss in 2019 stings more than arguably any other game in recent program history, and after getting the year off in 2020 due to COVID-19, UCLA made it five losses in a row when Utah won in a 44-24 blowout in Salt Lake City.
This time around, however, star quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is active and fully healthy. The only time Thompson-Robinson has played the Utes was that nightmare 2019 matchup, but he has come a long way since then.
Thompson-Robinson owns a career passer rating over 160 in 11 games against ranked opponents. Utah has a much better secondary than Washington, though, so this is a new challenge for the fifth-year starter.
He’ll also be dueling with Cameron Rising, who can uniquely match Thompson-Robinson’s production through the air and on the ground. Rising may not string together as flashy of a highlight reel, but he is certainly going to cause problems for UCLA’s defense.
Even though this is the same defense that shut down Michael Penix Jr. for an entire half last week, coach Kyle Whittingham has almost always been able to put together a game plan that leads to 40-plus points against the Bruins. Tight end Brant Kuithe being out dings their offense a bit, but between Rising and running back Tavion Thomas, they hace the playmakers and facilitators to give defensive coordinator Bill McGovern fits.
Whittingham runs a well-oiled machine in Salt Lake City, and he won’t be so easily out-gameplanned like first-year Kalen DeBoer was last week. The dominance UCLA demonstrated against Washington is unlikely to pop up against a perennial contender and reigning conference champs.
If Thompson-Robinson makes one mistake, or if the Bruins’ recent inability to finish drives returns, that will give the Utes the opening they need to take charge.
It won’t be a blowout like it has been the past four times, but Utah still feels like a giant Kelly is not equipped to slay just yet.
Benjamin Royer, contributing writer
Prediction: Utah 38, UCLA 24
Back-to-back weeks with a ranked opponent coming to the Rose Bowl and the Bruins will try to repeat their success from eight days earlier.
However, the defensive tenacity that Utah brings draws little comparison to Washington. The Utes’ secondary – led by Clark Phillips III – may be the top position group in the Pac-12 and UCLA may struggle to put points on the board on Saturday.
Quarterback Cameron Rising has not lived up to hefty expectations he set during the back half of the 2021 season, but his numbers are still impressive. The Southern California native led Utah to the Rose Bowl game and will now make his return to the historic stadium with the hopes of launching the Utes back into the College Football Playoff conversation.
Despite allowing 32 points and 410 yards in total offense against Washington, the defensive performance from the Bruins was one of the more impressive in the Chip Kelly era.
However, depth has faltered, and if a few more injuries or absences were to happen in Westwood, UCLA’s current “just enough” structure on defense may soon be nowhere close to enough for the rest of conference action.
Utah has yet to put up fewer than 26 points in a game this season and is averaging 42.0 points per game – 11th in the nation in the category – so far in 2022. The Bruins’ secondary will have to show up in a big way to stunt big plays from their Pac-12 South foes.
I would not be surprised if UCLA comes away with its sixth straight victory and finds a way to shoot up the AP poll once again. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has the ability and veteran experience to keep the Bruins in any game against any team in the NCAA.
But Utah is arguably the best team in the Pac-12 – if not, USC – and the stark difference in pure defensive talent will be on display Saturday night.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow Royer on Twitter at @thebenroyer
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