The Utah Utes defeated the UCLA Bruins 52-45 to remain atop the Pac-12 South, showing that they’re ready for Washington next weekend.
That’s not to say that the Utes were perfect in this contest. They weren’t. The defense allowed over 500 yards to a UCLA offense that was playing with a backup quarterback. Likewise, the Utah pass protection struggled against the Bruin pass rush, allowing four sacks.
While Kyle Whittingham and his staff certainly need to address these areas in practice next week, they have to be impressed with what they saw on Saturday. The Utah special teams set the tone for the contest on the first play, as Cory Butler-Byrd returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Although the defense gave up its share of yardage, it still managed to get the job done, intercepting four passes and recovering a fumble. In addition, it completely shut down the Bruin ground game, holding them to just 46 yards on 16 carries. The lack of a running attack forced backup quarterback Mike Fafaul to attempt a UCLA-record 70 passes.
Of course, the story of the game is the Utah offense. Sure, the Ute offensive line struggled keeping Troy Williams upright, but they had no trouble opening up huge holes for Joe Williams. The recently unretired running back had an outstanding afternoon, running 29 times for a school-record 332 yards and four touchdowns. He was especially impressive in the second half, ripping off touchdown runs of 64 and 55 yards to give the Utes a 14-point cushion with 10:28 to play.
So, what does this victory mean for Utah in the grand scheme of things?
Quite frankly, Saturday afternoon’s performance is exactly what the Ute coaching staff wanted to see from the offense heading into next weekend’s epic showdown with Washington. Arizona – the only team that was even competitive with the Huskies this season – kept the game close by running the ball effectively, racking up 308 yards against the UW front seven. Utah will have to establish the run (as it did today) if it’s going to beat Washington – whose defense ranks ninth nationally in yards per play, allowing just 4.42 yards per attempt. That will open up things for the Ute passing game, which now has 10 pass plays longer than 40 yards will this season after picking up two more Saturday against UCLA.
