Utah Has Been Dominate Recently In UCLA Series, Will That Be The Case This Weekend?
Oct 7, 2022, 2:15 PM
View of the entrance to the Rose Bowl before the game between the UCLA Bruins and the Washington Huskies on October 6, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY- UCLA may have the upper-hand in the entire history of their games against Utah, but the Utes have been the ones with the strong showing recently in the series that dates back to 1933. Since then, the Utes and Bruins have met a total of 19 times with UCLA having a lead of 11-8. However, Utah has dominated the series with UCLA not winning a game since 2015, and getting absolutely drubbed in Salt Lake City last year, 44-24.
2️⃣4️⃣ hours until kickoff! pic.twitter.com/z3HnVZLWJF
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) October 7, 2022
This year could be different for the Chip Kelly led Bruins who are currently ranked #18 in the country after an impressive win over Washington the weekend before. Utah for their part will be coming into Pasadena ranked #11- their highest rank in the 2022 since being #7 to start the season.
So, does Utah continue to dominate UCLA? Let’s take some time to preview the 2022 UCLA Bruins.
Will Utah Dominate The 2022 UCLA Bruins?
Coach Kelly’s time in Pasadena has been anything but smooth. After a reign of terror in Eugene between 2009 and 2012, Kelly has been a little underwhelming as a head coach since. However, the Bruins have steadily gotten better year-by-year since he took the job in 2018, though it’s taken longer than fans wanted.
Right now, Kelly is in the process of going from a minus in the win column to a positive, currently sitting at 23-25 as the head coach of UCLA. A win against the Utes will get Kelly that much closer and get the proverbial monkey off his back of not beating Utah since becoming the head coach of the Bruins.
To help get the job done, Kelly is going to need his quarterback, Dorian Thompson-Robinson to have the game of his life. Last weekend against the Huskies, DTR was 24 of 33 passing for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Thompson-Robinson also rushed 10 times for 53 yards and one more touchdown.
Quite a few accolades for DTR this week!
🏆 @DoriansTweets pic.twitter.com/aVBvybnhWz
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) October 4, 2022
The Bruins also possess one of the best running backs in the country in Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet was a force against UW the week before rushing for 22 times for 124 yards and one touchdown. His longest rush of the game was a 22-yarder. On the year, Charbonnet has rushed for a total of 65 times for 417 times and five touchdowns while averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
If UCLA will be looking to their passing game, wide receiver Jake Bobo will most likely be their guy. Bobo has caught 21 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns in 2022. He absolutely went off against Washington the weekend before hauling in six passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, UCLA currently ranks #1 in the Pac-12 in rush defense and #6 nationally. Leading the change for the Bruins on the other side of the ball are linebackers Darius Muasau who leads the team with 30 total tackles and one pass breakup, and JonJon Vaughns who is second in tackles with 26 total, but also adds two pass breakups, and two interceptions. Laiatu Latu- another linebacker, has been dominant when it comes to getting to the quarterback in 2022 for UCLA. He currently has six sacks for 51 yards to his name as well as 13 tackles and a pass breakup.
