No. 11 Utah’s Defense Struggles In First Pac-12 Loss Of Season
Oct 8, 2022, 5:15 PM | Updated: 7:19 pm
Zach Charbonnet #24 of the UCLA Bruins pushes off R.J. Hubert #11 and Zemaiah Vaughn #16 of the Utah Utes on a long run during the first half of a game at Rose Bowl on October 08, 2022 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah’s defense didn’t look like a typical Utes defense in their 42-32 loss to No. 18 UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson put together a tremendous performance, completing 18 of his 23 pass attempts for 299 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. He recorded a rushing TD. Zach Charbonnet had 22 carries for 198 yards and one touchdown.
For Utah, Cam Rising finished 23-of-32 for 287 yards and one interception. He also ran the ball 13 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Tavion Thomas rushed for 91 yards on 18 carries and one TD.
Pregame
We meet again in 2022…#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/7er4ctaWb0
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 8, 2022
Hanging with former #UBoyz ranging from about 1985-1995. #GoUtes #UteProud #Utah #UtahFootball #Utes pic.twitter.com/eRMIpswJDP
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 8, 2022
Warmups in progress. A little over an hour till kickoff. #GoUtes #UteProud #UtahFootball #UTAHvsUCLA pic.twitter.com/mOIT44B6oU
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 8, 2022
First Quarter
Both Utah and UCLA’s offenses struggled throughout the opening quarter. Late in the opening quarter, Cam Rising threw just his second interception of the season. The Bruins turned that into a seven-yard touchdown run by quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. UCLA had a 7-0 lead with 10 seconds left in the first quarter.
TOUCHDOWN UCLA!!!@DoriansTweets takes it in for the Bruins' first score of the day on the QB keeper! 💨
UCLA 7, Utah 0
0:10 – 1st quarter💻: https://t.co/xmTVLFXHHv
📺: @FOX#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ZWTHvlqqLn— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) October 8, 2022
Second Quarter
Utah was able to get the ball down to the goal line but sputtered in the red zone. Jordan Noyes made a 23-yard field goal to cut UCLA’s lead to 7-3 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
Utes are on the board‼️@jordannoyes23 with the 23yd FG pic.twitter.com/reRm5wzsLO
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 8, 2022
After the field goal, UCLA made big plays and put another touchdown on the scoreboard with a seven-yard TD pass from DTR to Jake Bobo. UCLA’s lead was extended to 14-3 with 7:34 left in the second quarter.
THE BOBO TOE TAP! TOUCHDOWN UCLA! 💥
💻: https://t.co/xmTVLFG6iV
📺: @FOX#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/lB72IXQ86u— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) October 8, 2022
With 3:14 remaining in the second quarter, Tavion Thomas ran in a five-yard touchdown to cut UCLA’s lead to 14-10.
.@thiagoothomas9 😤💪#GoUtes https://t.co/uUOemMCW7W
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 8, 2022
On the next drive, UCLA took the ball all the way down to the Utah three-yard line and was forced to kick a field goal. UCLA missed the 21-yard attempt to keep the score at 14-10 with 1:02 remaining until halftime.
UCLA FG attempt is no good‼️
Utes ball
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 8, 2022
Utah orchestrated an effective drive to set up a 43-yard field goal for Jordan Noyes but he missed it wide left. That took the game to halftime with UCLA holding a 14-10 lead.
Third Quarter
UCLA had the ball to start the second half and did the same thing that they have done in the first half. That was making big chunk plays. Dorian Thompson-Robinson found Kam Brown for a five-yard touchdown to put the Bruins ahead 21-10 with 10:50 remaining in the third.
DTR ➡️ Kam pic.twitter.com/gqCXzlJZyC
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) October 8, 2022
Cam Rising led Utah down the field with big throws and running, which ended the drive with a six-yard TD run. With Utah trailing 21-16 after the TD, the Utes elected to go for two. Rising ran in the two-point conversion to trim the Bruins’ lead to 21-18 with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter.
.@crising7 getting the TD AND the two-point conversion. 🏈🙌#GoUtes https://t.co/i9pPPnjPz6
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 8, 2022
Dorian Thompson-Robinson continued to rip apart Utah’s defense. He ended another drive with a touchdown pass to Jake Bobo from 10 yards out. UCLA had a 28-18 lead with 1:07 remaining in the third quarter.
BETTER BELIEVE IT'S BOBO 🔥
💻: https://t.co/xmTVLFXHHv
📺: @FOX#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/7IdQArAsrF— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) October 8, 2022
Fourth Quarter
It took Utah 10 plays to find the end zone but Cam Rising scored on a nine-yard run. The Utes trailed UCLA 28-25 with 11:39 remaining in the game. It’s the second rushing touchdown of the game for Rising and the sixth this season.
.@crising7 x2⃣ 💪#GoUtes https://t.co/sRIL3BTSJe
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 8, 2022
UCLA’s next possession took two plays before DTR threw a 70-yard TD to Logan Loya to extend the Bruins’ lead to 35-25 with 11:17 to play in the game.
LOGAN LOYA 70 YARDS TO THE HOUSE!!! 🏡
💻: https://t.co/xmTVLFG6iV
📺: @FOX#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/P1YhQL7ABQ— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) October 8, 2022
When Utah had the ball, Rising fumbled it on fourth down. UCLA recovered and took it to the one-yard line. One play later, Zach Charbonnet ran in a touchdown to give the Bruins a 42-25 lead with 9:26 remaining in the game.
FUMMMMBLE! 😱
Ball back with @UCLAFootball 😤 pic.twitter.com/z2jWxwRPjY
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 8, 2022
Just before the end of the game, Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s pass was picked off by Clark Phillips III and taken 80-yards for a touchdown. That cut the Bruins’ lead to 42-32 with 30 seconds left.
Back-to-back 🏠 calls for @ClarkPhillips21.#GoUtes https://t.co/3ZZvdtKPVL
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 8, 2022
Utah dropped its record to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 play. They will host USC on Saturday, October 15 at 6:00 p.m. MT on FOX.
