All Bruins UCLA Football Players of the Game: Week 6 vs. Utah
For the second week in a row, the Bruins' biggest stars delivered them their biggest win of the year.
No. 11 UCLA football (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) hosted No. 21 Utah (4-2, 2-1 Pac-12) on Saturday, coming away with a 42-32 win. Taking a look at each unit individually, here are the three student-athletes who have earned the All Bruins UCLA Football Players of the Game awards.
Offensive Player of the Game: RB Zach Charbonnet
Charbonnet has been overshadowed by quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson for most of the season, and for good reason considering the signal-caller's dark horse Heisman run.
That shouldn't take away from Charbonnet's performance in the first half of 2022, and it certainly shouldn't take away from his latest outing against the Utes. Charbonnet racked up 198 yards on 22 carries, breaking into the end zone on one occasion.
The former Michigan transfer had gains of 49 and 44 yards, and he had four more carries than went for 10-plus. Through five games, Charbonnet has 758 yards and six touchdowns from scrimmage, placing him in the front of the race for a spot on the First Team All-Pac-12.
On nearly every scoring drive, Charbonnet was a key component of the play-calling mix. His ability to churn ahead for solid gains on nearly every touch is unmatched, and the Bruins were lucky to have him at full strength after he missed Week 2 and was eased back into his role over the past month.
Keegan Jones only had three carries – which he turned into 0 yards – so any more reliance on him and UCLA's run game likely would not have been as effective.
Charbonnet instead returned to his workhorse ways, and he still stood out as an extremely efficient ball-carrier despite the increased volume.
Defensive Player of the Game: LB Darius Muasau
Before the pick six in the final seconds, the Bruins had allowed just 25 points to one of the top-15 offenses in the country.
Muasau was a major part of that, robbing the Utes of two possessions and handing his offense some point in the process.
In the first half, he picked off quarterback Cameron Rising in the red zone, making a great read in the middle of a pro-style Tampa 2 defense. The Bruins marched down the field for a touchdown following that forced turnover, giving them a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Muasau forced another turnover in the fourth quarter, when Utah was still trying to crawl its way back in the game. Rising seemed to successfully convert on fourth down by putting his head down and rushing one up the middle, but Muasau led with his head and popped the ball loose. Cornerback Jaylin Davies scooped it up and returned it all the way to the 1, and then Charbonnet punched it in for the score.
That's 14 points that can be attributed to Muasau, plus however many he took away from the Utes. He was credited with eight tackles, good for second most on the team.
The former Hawaii transfer was heralded as the leader of the front seven all offseason and preseason, and he is really living up to that reputation and his two First Team All-Mountain West honors halfway through his first year in Westwood.
Special Teams Player of the Game: KR Kazmeir Allen
The Bruins were gifted great field position all day long, thanks in large part to Allen's explosiveness on special teams.
Allen didn't get into the end zone, but he did a great job of finding lanes and maximizing gains without falling back on a boom-or-bust mentality.
Even though the speedster's first return only went to UCLA's 29, it did set up a drive that went all the way to Utah's 3. Allen opened the second half with a big return of 43 yards that got all the way to the Utes' 48.
The offense kept capitalizing on that positive field position, but Utah was keeping pace and only trailed by three in the fourth.
Allen helped the Bruins answer with a 33-yard return to UCLA's 39, since two plays later, Thompson-Robinson hit receiver Logan Loya for a 70-yard touchdown that stood as much-needed insurance.
The offense should get the credit for coming through on basically every drive after a slow start – not at the expense of Allen, though, considering how integral he was in kickstarting those drives.
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