No. 18 UCLA Football Takes Care of No. 11 Utah, Remains Undefeated
In recent years, the Bruins may have lost their showdown with the Utes on Saturday.
UCLA had lost their last five matchups with Utah, with the Utes’ margin of victory in the last four averaging out to 32 points per game. And even after seemingly proving themselves with a big win over a ranked LSU team in 2021, they lost to Fresno State a week later.
So with the Bruins up by just three in the fourth quarter, a week removed from a win over then-No. 15 Washington that shot them into the top 25 themselves, many jaded fans wouldn’t be blamed for assuming a collapse was just over the horizon.
But these are not the Bruins of old, apparently.
No. 18 UCLA football (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) did more than cling on to its lead, pouring on the points to defeat No. 11 Utah (4-2, 2-1 Pac-12) by a score of 42-32 at the Rose Bowl. This marks the first time the Bruins have started 6-0 since 2005, and they are one of just 13 undefeated Power Five teams remaining.
UCLA’s offense was humming basically from start to finish, scoring six touchdowns in a seven-drive span after opening the game with back-to-back punts. The star duo of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and running back Zach Charbonnet fueled the offense during that stretch, putting up gaudy and efficient numbers en route to the runaway win.
Thompson-Robinson ended the day with 299 yards and four passing touchdowns on 78.3% completion and a 236.2 passer rating. The dual-threat veteran also added 17 yards and a score on the ground, making plays in every way he could.
Even after one of his biggest mistakes of the day – an ill-advised intentional grounding right after the Utes made it a three-point game in the fourth quarter – he hit receiver Logan Loya for a 70-yard touchdown that gave the Bruins some much-needed insurance.
Coach Chip Kelly decided to go for it on fourth down inside of field goal range with less than a minute left, and Thompson-Robinson did end up throwing a pick six on the questionable play call. While it didn’t make much of an impact on the game, it did end Thompson-Robinson’s streak of 155 straight attempts without a pick.
Charbonnet, meanwhile, went for chunk play after chunk play before eventually crawling his way to 198 yards on the day. The former Michigan transfer needed just 22 carries to get there, thanks in large part to his gains of 44 and 49 yards.
The Bruins’ offense stayed on the field for just three sets of downs on their first two drives, failing to get past their own 30-yard line on both occasions. From there, though, they were nearly perfect, and the defense did its job to hold up on the other end as well.
Quarterback Cameron Rising did not pass for a touchdown, and running back Tavion Thomas was limited to just 12 yards in the second half. The Bruins forced an interception and a fumble, also adding a pair of sacks against the physical Utah front.
It wasn’t a spotless game for UCLA, though, since kicker Nicholas Barr-Mira missed a chip shot field goal towards the end of the second quarter. And despite all of the offensive success, the Utes weren’t going away – at least, until linebacker Darius Muasau forced a fumble that cornerback Jaylin Davies returned all the way to the 1-yard line.
But this UCLA team was not going to choke away the lead down the stretch, and the team is now riding higher than it has in an entire generation after taking care of business against the reigning Pac-12 champions.
The Bruins will be on a bye next weekend, then take the trip to Eugene to face No. 12 Oregon on Oct. 22.
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