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The Utes looked much better at home against USC last week, but they have to hit the road again where they have yet to win a game in 2012. The last time the Utes went on the road, the results were less than desirable when they traveled to Arizona State and got whopped by the Sun Devils, 37-7.
This time, Utah travels to the Rose Bowl looking for its first Pac-12 win of the season on Saturday afternoon. Here’s what to look for in the match-up.
Game Notes- Utah (2-3, 0-2 Pac-12) vs. UCLA (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12)
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 13
- Time: Noon PDT
- Site: Rose Bowl (91,500/Grass) Pasadena, Calif.
- TV: FOX
- Radio: ESPN700, SIRIUS/XM (139/201)
- Series Record: UCLA leads 8-2
- Last Meeting: 2011 (Utah 31-6)
- Kickoff Weather: Sunny, temps near 70
1. Travis Wilson or Jon Hays? After the Ute offense struggled in the second half against USC last week, many fans were calling for Travis Wilson to start against UCLA. With the Ute coaches fairly mum on the subject, we may see Wilson start on Saturday. Wilson seems to be getting most of the reps at practice this week, but Hays has been doing a pretty good job of managing the Utes and not making mistakes. It sounds like we’ll see a little more of Wilson starting this week, and don’t be surprised if he starts on Saturday.2. UCLA’s offensive youths vs. Utah’s defensive experience. The Utes have a serious advantage in the trenches when their defense is on the field. UCLA head coach Jim Mora is worried about how his very young offensive line matches up with the veteran Ute defensive line. Expect to see some breakdowns in UCLA’s pass protection a few times on Saturday. The youths along the offensive line and the inexperience at quarterback for the Bruins could prove costly against one of the best defensive fronts in the conference.
3. Hundley’s efficiency vs. Utah secondary. The Utes’ secondary has been suspect over the last two weeks, and UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley has been very efficient this season. Hundley completes 66 percent of his passes, which is good for third in the conference. The weakness? He’s thrown seven interceptions on the season. That’s second most in the Pac-12. The bad news for the Utes is that they only have two interceptions all year, last in the league.
4. Anyone …? Anyone …? Blechen …? Blechen …? Who knew that the three-game suspension Ute safety Brian Blechen received before the year started would actually cost him five games. Even though he’s been back the last two weeks, he’s been hurting his team more than helping. There’s been confusion in the defensive backfield, bad angles and poor tackling. Blechen clearly hasn’t been ready to play yet this season. When that happens, the pass defense will also be back.
5. Will Brian Johnson continue to open things up? Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson opened up the playbook a little bit more last week against USC. It looked more like the spread offense Ute fans are used to seeing from the glory days of the early 2000s. The coaches said that they would lean more toward that type of offense than the pro-style we’ve seen the last couple of years as the season goes on. How much that occurs against the Bruins may be determined by who starts at quarterback. Wilson may be able to do more athletically, but he’s a true freshman, so the Utes will dumb things down a bit for him. As slow as Hays may be, Johnson may be able to open up the playbook more for him than Wilson.
Trevor Amicone is the founder of byutahinsiders.com, which covers BYU, Utah and national college football with weekly polls, bowl projections, opinions and analysis. Follow its new Twitter page at @BYUtahInsiders and Amicone's at @TrevorAmicone.
