Game To Watch: #11 Utah at #18 UCLA: October 8, 2022

Utah visits UCLA for a key Pac-12 game this Saturday at 3:30 EDT. The Utes lost a heart-breaker in their season opener against Florida, but have rebounded since winning their last four comfortably, including two Pac-12 wins. The Bruins are undefeated and beat Washington at home 40 – 32 last Friday night. Both teams are still unblemished in Pac-12 play and will look to get a leg-up in the Pac-12 South standings on Saturday.

Recent History

UCLA has an 11 – 8 edge overall in the series, but seven of those wins came before 1975. The Utes have won five in a row, the last four of which have been in convincing fashion. UCLA’s last win against Utah came in 2016, a 17 – 9 win on the road.

Top 25 Players

What To Watch For…

Can Utah Contain Dorian Thompson-Robinson?

Utah’s defense has played well since the loss to Florida, but in that loss they struggled to contain Florida’s Anthony Richardson. Richardson ran for over 100 yards and made even more plays scrambling away from pressure and finding receivers to throw to. Two weeks ago they did a much better job containing Arizona State’s Emory Jones. The Utes sacked Jones five times and limited him to just 20 rushing yards. They will need the latter performance to slow down Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

Thompson-Robinson has been playing some of the best ball of his career this year. The experienced quarterback has averaged 8.7 yards per attempt, completed over 74 percent of his passes and has an 11 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio. While his play in the pocket has been efficient, he is still a dangerous player when he decides to run, rushing for over 7 yards per carry with three touchdowns. Thompson-Robinson gave Washington’s defense headaches last Friday night and he will do the same this week if the Utah defensive line is unable to keep him contained and get him on the ground when they have the chance.

UCLA has to pressure Cam Rising

Utah’s offense lost a major weapon when Brant Kuithe went down with a season ending injury against Arizona State. Anytime the offense is shorthanded there’s more on the quarterback’s plate as he has to find ways to make up for the lost play-making ability and production. Cam Rising is the clear leader of Utah’s football team and he will shoulder the burden of making up for Kuithe’s absence. He is going to be looking for other players to step up or to make more plays himself, UCLA would be well served to get home with their pressure and force Rising to make those decisions quicker than he wants to.

The Bruins have some pass rushers that are capable of creating havoc in the offensive backfield. Laiatu Latu has six sacks already this season while Grayson Murphy has three as well. UCLA’s pass rush was able to sack Michael Penix twice last week and pressure him multiple others forcing him into mistakes. The Washington offensive line had not given up a single sack against Michigan State and Stanford the two weeks prior, but struggled to keep Penix clean against UCLA. Utah has done a good job of protecting Rising this year, allowing just three sacks in five games to date. UCLA will need to get pressure on Rising to force him into mistakes that could tip the game in the Bruins favor.

Can Clark Phillips and Co. Slow Down Jake Bobo?

Jake Bobo transferred in from Duke and has taken over as UCLA’s leading receiver. The 6’5″ 215 lb receiver had a big day against Washington, beating man coverage repeatedly and scoring two touchdowns. He is a difficult match-up for most defensive backs because of his size and excellent route running ability. UCLA wants to feature Bobo in the passing game, but Utah’s Clark Phillips is not most defensive backs.

Phillips is an excellent cornerback who does not hesitate to take on top receivers man to man. He dominated the game against Oregon State, intercepting three passes and returning one for a touchdown. Phillips is among the best in the country and has experience matching up against top receivers. He will be called upon to lead the way as the Utes look to slowdown Bobo. Even when Phillips is not matched up with Bobo, his ability to play on an island will allow the defense to give more help where it is needed. If the Utes can limit Thompson-Robinson’s favorite target it will help them slow down the entire UCLA offense.

Prediction

UCLA proved last week they are one of the better teams in the Pac-12 and will look to build on that win this week. Thompson-Robinson is tough to keep contained and the UCLA running game is capable of moving the ball. Utah also has a strong running attack and Cameron Rising has proven he can lead the team in tough games. The Utes may give up a few big plays, but they will get the key stops they need to secure a big win on the road. Utah 31 UCLA 27.

College Football: Cal at UCLA, November 30, 2019, Los Angeles, CA Image taken by Steve Cheng is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

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