Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — There are a lot of storylines to look forward to when the Utes and the Bruins get together this Saturday. UCLA comes off a win that might salvage Rick Neuheisel’s career at the school, at least for another year, but will a loss at Utah change that?
This time last year, Norm Chow was working for Neuheisel as his offensive coordinator. Will that make any difference in the chess match between the two coaching staffs this weekend? We’ll take a closer look at those storylines as we dig deeper and tell you what to watch for when UCLA plays Utah on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Here are five storylines to look for:
1. Chow vs. Neuheisel. UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel and Utah offensive coordinator Norm Chow reportedly butted heads when Chow served in the same position at UCLA for the last three seasons. Will their familiarity with one another make a difference in the game planning or play calling on Saturday? It has to, at least a little bit. Neuheisel will know what Chow will want to do in certain situations and vice versa, but it should all balance out. A lot has changed. Chow’s offense at Utah is slightly restrained by the lack of a prototypical Chow quarterback, but it is nowhere near as restrained as it was by Neuheisel at UCLA. It should be a fun chess match to keep an eye on, but neither side will likely have any sort of advantage.
2. Bowl eligibility. Both teams sit at 5-4, a win away from bowl eligibility. It is likely that both teams will make a bowl game because they both have Colorado left on the schedule. However, both teams would like to get that over with on Saturday. Plus, both teams have bigger plans in mind, which brings us to the next storyline…
3. Division title hopes? Although Utah is not mathematically eliminated from the Pac-12 South Division Championship, the chips that would have to fall into place are staggering. Rose Bowl hopes are out the window for the Utes, but UCLA controls its own destiny after beating Arizona State last week. If UCLA wins out, they will play in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game at the end of the season. Utah can play spoiler and keep an 8-4 season and a Sun Bowl berth in their sights.
4. Can Utah beat a quality team? Utah has been criticized for only being able to beat bad teams. Granted, Oregon State and Arizona are not good teams, but they are probably better than Idaho and New Mexico State. That said, UCLA is a talented team, and if the Utes can beat the Bruins on Saturday, that should quiet their critics — at least until they finish their season with Washington State and Colorado.5. Matchup to watch: Utah’s defensive front seven vs. Johnathan Franklin/Derrick Coleman. The Bruins have a great two-headed running attack in Franklin and Coleman, who have combined to rush for 1,138 yards on the season. The Ute defense ranks 10th in the nation in rushing defense, only giving up 95 yards per game. Utah already shut down one of the nation’s best running backs in Ray Graham of Pitt last month. This will be strength against strength as the Bruins are almost guaranteed to try to run the ball regardless of how much success they are having.
Trevor Amicone is the sports director at 88.1 Weber FM "Ogden's Radio Station" and host of the sports talk radio show, "Fully Loaded Sports with Trevor Amicone". Find more of his blogs at TrevorsTopTens.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TrevorAmicone.
