UCLA Football: Bruins Offense Disappoints, Defense Excels in Low-Scoring Pac-12 Defeat
It was a tough watch for most of the game; Bruin fans and your Bruins suffered their first loss of the season, 14-7, against the Utah Utes.
Chip Kelly’s high-powered offense struggled mightly to put points on the board and gain some positive yards for most of the game. Although the Bruins gained more yards than the Utes, 243-219, UCLA couldn’t capitalize with points, and their two turnovers and 11 first downs didn’t help.
The Utes dominated time of possession 34:28 compared to UCLA’s 25:32. UCLA freshman QB Dante Moore looked pedestrian for the first time in his short career. Moore went 15-for-35 for 234 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. His first pass of the game resulted in a pick-six for the Utes, which ended up being the difference in this defensive slugfest.
On top of Moore’s pedestrian play, the run game was worse, as they only rushed for nine yards. The last time UCLA had less than nine rushing yards was ironically at Utah in 2016.
The Bruins offensive line struggled to protect Moore and the backfield all game. The O-line was responsible for seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss in what you would think would be their worst performance of the season.
Utah QB Cam Rising didn’t see the field at all; however, Nate Johnson was enough throwing for 117 yards, going 9-for-17, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. The Bruins did cause four sacks and 11 tackles for loss but zero interceptions, and their inability to capitalize on the first-quarter fumble recovery hurt them in the long run.
UCLA got the offense going with a nine-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that lasted nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter. The Bruins defense did their job on a three-and-out with plenty of time to spare, but the offense was held to a turnover on downs, and their hopes of a win ended there.
The gold and blue will now have their bye week next week and prep for their second Pac-12 showdown against Washington State on October 7th at the Rose Bowl.
