Football Monday: UCLA vs. Utah

Every postgame, Daily Bruin Sports breaks down the Bruins’ most recent game, outlining the good, the bad and the final verdict of their performance. This week, we take a closer look at UCLA’s 17-9 win over Utah in Salt Lake City.

The good: Defensive adjustments
For the first 36 minutes of Saturday’s game, Utah ran the ball at will against the Bruin defense. The Utes plowed the Bruins over at the line of scrimmage, averaging 5.1 yards per carry over their first 39 attempts.

“Their O-line was pretty good; it was pretty physical,” said junior defensive end Takkarist McKinley. “They were aggressive.”

With 8:39 left in the third quarter, the Utes appeared to have all the momentum. Even though they were still trailing 10-9, they had scored nine unanswered points, as the Bruins were seemingly incapable of stopping the run and the read option between the tackles.

Then UCLA made what coach Jim Mora called “some adjustments along the defensive line.” Mora wouldn’t specify exactly what he changed in his scheme, but McKinley and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley did.

“We started to play games with our (defensive) tackles and our (defensive) ends,” Bradley said. “We started moving them at different times and doing different things inside, which really helped us.”

This kind of adjustment wasn’t seen from the Bruins earlier in the year, when they were gashed on the ground by Arizona, Arizona State and Stanford in the second half. However, against Utah, UCLA appeared to have learned from its past mistakes in run defense.

“The fourth quarter was the key for us; we played as well as we’ve played all year against the run,” Bradley said.

It’s hard to play any better than UCLA’s run defense did in the fourth quarter. The Bruins allowed just 1 net rushing yard during that final period, and 1.6 yards per play on the Utes’ 19 plays from scrimmage.

The bad: Pass blocking
It was a tough day on the offensive line, but not because of penalties this time.

Instead, the Bruins wilted before a strong defensive front from Utah, allowing freshman quarterback Josh Rosen to get hit in the backfield several times. Credit Rosen for standing in there and making throws under pressure, but he really had no choice but to take a hit on several throws.

UCLA’s struggles in pass protection can be partly attributed to the rash of injuries along the offensive line. Two starters – redshirt junior left tackle Conor McDermott and junior right guard Alex Redmond – both went out with injuries, forcing freshman Fred Ulu-Perry to step into right guard and redshirt sophomore Kenny Lacy to step back into the starting line as well.

Ulu-Perry performed admirably considering his lack of experience, but he did show his youth at times. Late in the third quarter, the freshman whiffed on a block, allowing Rosen to get sacked for an 8-yard loss. The Bruins went on to punt three plays later.

The verdict: UCLA refuses to mail it in
UCLA suffered a crushing loss last week against Washington State, surrendering a go-ahead touchdown pass with just three seconds to go. The last-second loss had the locker room feeling like “a morgue,” Mora said.

With that loss still fresh in their minds, the Bruins easily could have put up a listless performance in Salt Lake City. They could’ve lost confidence or given up hope on the season.

They didn’t.

As a matter of fact, the UCLA defense had a bit of a cathartic moment, clinching a win a week after blowing it.

“That (Washington State loss) haunted us throughout the whole week,” said junior linebacker Jayon Brown, who made the game-clinching fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter. “We felt like we let the offense down. … This time around we held it down for our offense – and for our team – so it was a great feeling.”

Player of the game: Senior wide receiver Jordan Payton
How can you not give a game ball to the player who set the UCLA record for career receiving yards? That’s what Payton did against Utah, hauling in seven passes for 105 yards to give him 194 receptions on his career.

But make no mistake, Payton isn’t the player of the game just because he broke a record. Instead, Payton earned the nod because of his four clutch receptions on third down – each of which went for first downs.

None of Payton’s third-down catches were bigger than his 12-yard reception on a third-and-10 play from the Utah 34-yard line, with 6:31 to go in the third quarter.

On that play, Payton faced tight man coverage and delivered a precise comeback route, diving for the football to make the catch just past the sticks. Payton’s catch kept the Bruins’ best drive of the second half alive, paving the way for UCLA’s lone score of the period.

Quote of the game: Junior inside linebacker Jayon Brown, on the upcoming USC game
“It’s just everything we want. At the beginning of the year, this is our goal: to make it to the Pac-12 championship. And we’ve just got one game left. … It’s always a big rivalry, but now that there’s more on it, it just makes it a whole lot better. We’re excited, we can’t wait, and we’re looking forward to it.”