Scouting the UCLA Bruins


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utes are off to a 6-1 start for the third season in a row, and at 3-1 in Pac-12 play, are tied for first place in the South Division with Colorado. The last two seasons ended without any South Division hardware, and in last year's case, UCLA was the nightmare ending to Utah's dreamy start.

This weekend, the Utes get a crack at both revenge and effectively ending UCLA's own Pac-12 South chances, despite being underdogs. Quarterback Josh Rosen is questionable for the Bruins, as are a number of other offensive players in other position groups. Is this the year the Utes finally get it done?

Some series notes of interest:

  • The Utes are 3-11 all-time versus UCLA, and 2-3 since joining the Pac-12. Their last victory came in 2014, at the Rose Bowl, a 30-28 thriller.
  • Utah is 2-5 against the Bruins at home. Its last victory in Rice-Eccles against them came in 2011.
  • Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is 1-3 versus UCLA head coach Jim Mora.

Scouting report: UCLA

Head coach: Jim Mora (40-20, five seasons)
Record: 3-4, 1-3 conference
Line: UCLA -7

Offense (410 ypg, 26 ppg)

It's fair to say that UCLA has underwhelmed this season on the offensive side of the ball. The Bruins have scored more than 30 points only twice, and are the conference's third-lowest-scoring team. The departure of former offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone appears to have been a more difficult adjustment than UCLA fans were hoping.

Key to UCLA's attack is quarterback Josh Rosen. UCLA hopes to have him back this week, but if he's unavailable this weekend, redshirt senior Mike Fafaul will likely be in charge of the offense. Fafaul was 24 of 40 for 258 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in starting last week at Washington State, and was able to make some impressive throws, but he's nowhere near the talent Rosen is.

The receiving corps boasts some athletes in Darren Andrews and Ishmael Adams, speedy wideouts that will test Utah's deep coverage. The Utes have struggled to defend the deep ball at times, never more evident than two weeks ago at Arizona.

The running game has been particularly disappointing for the Bruins. Running back Soso Jamabo leads the team with just 207 yards rushing on 52 carries. To put that in perspective, Utah has three backs who've outrushed Jamabo, and a fourth in Troy McCormick just 9 yards behind. At last in the conference and 127th in the nation with just 91.1 yards per game, UCLA has an especially tough task ahead this week against Utah's defensive line.

Defense (344 ypg, 23.1 ppg)

UCLA's defense has been good, even quite comparable with Utah's. Unfortunately, like Utah, it isn't great in the red zone, allowing a score almost 90 percent of the time. It does a nice job of turning teams over, with eight interceptions and four fumble recoveries, good for third in the Pac-12.

Where the Bruins are particularly strong is in the secondary. Senior safety Randall Goforth is the leader, with two interceptions and a forced fumble so far. Accompanying him in the defensive backfield is fellow safety Jaleel Wadood and cornerback Fabian Moreau. This group makes it difficult to throw: Thus far, the Bruins are only allowing 198 yards of passing a game on a 50 percent completion percentage, with only eight touchdowns allowed in seven contests. Utah quarterback Troy Williams has a tough test ahead.

The running defense has been stout, allowing only 146 yards per game. The good news for Utah is that the Bruins have shown the tendency to allow a big game on the ground every now and then, allowing Arizona, Stanford and Texas A&M over 200 yards a game. This may be an area Utah can exploit, but it's going to take some creativity.

Special teams

The return game hasn't been particularly strong this season, but Adams, Goforth and sophomore defensive back Adarius Pickett are all speedsters who could threaten the Utes at any time.

Kicking has been a difficult task of the Bruins this season. Freshman JJ Molson is 9 of 14 on field goals for the year, 10th in the conference. Freshman punter Austin Kent is averaging 38 yards a punt, ninth in the conference.

Game outlook

Advanced stats gurus and sites don't like Utah this week. ESPN's Football Power Index currently has UCLA as a 74 percent favorite to win this game, a good barometer, as FPI is 6-1 projecting the Utes this year. Brian Fremeau, creator of bcftoys.com, also has UCLA as a winner this week, projecting the Bruins to beat the Utes 25-19. Profootballfocus.com lists UCLA as a 21-13 winner, citing Marcus Williams' potential absence and Rosen's projected return. ESPN's panel of Pac-12 experts are more favorable, with three of five favoring the Utes.


Stephen Lindsey is a student at the University of Utah currently working as an intern with KSL.com in Salt Lake City. Contact him at th3sl3@gmail.com or interact via his Twitter handle, @slthe3

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