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Bruins beat Utes in decisive football game

Redshirt sophomore inside linebacker Eric Kendricks (left), redshirt senior defensive back Aaron Hester (center), and freshman defensive back Randall Goforth (right) take down Utah senior wide receiver DeVonte Christopher during the third quarter.

By Mansi Sheth

Oct. 13, 2012 7:39 p.m.

The original headline and article contained errors and have been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.

PASADENA, Calif. “”mdash; Saturday’s 21-14 victory over Utah wasn’t pretty or spectacular – some might have even called it boring – but it was a win.

After last week’s sloppy loss to Cal, the win over an inconsistent Utah (2-4, 0-3 Pac-12) team was a significant one for UCLA (5-2, 2-2).

“I think these games are important. It may not be beautiful and not great stats, but there is something to winning these gut-grinders, these tough ones,” coach Jim Mora said.

“When you are trying to develop teams and pull it out and win, it’s about learning and getting opportunities. Not every game is going to be a blowout. You have to learn how to win these.”

A week removed from throwing four interceptions, redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley regained his poise in the pocket against the Utes, throwing for 183 yards and rushing for 80 more, including a 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

A little more than two minutes after finding the end zone with his feet, Hundley rolled to his right and hit an open redshirt junior wide receiver Shaquelle Evans for a 64-yard touchdown pass.

“If I have the opportunity, I am going to take off running and use the legs,” Hundley said.

After giving up 43 points last week, the Bruin defense also bounced back, holding Utah to one touchdown and just 75 rushing yards.

“We emphasize finish as a defense and I think you saw that in the game today,” said junior defensive end Cassius Marsh.

“We need to have a big game every week. We expect big things from us every week. This is a big step forward. We are past last week now.”

The UCLA secondary, which struggled to keep up with Cal’s speedy receivers last week, was sharper against Utah.

“Last week, we had a bad showing. We have been focusing on the little things in practice like techniques and it showed in the game,” said senior cornerback Sheldon Price.

“We all played a great game as a secondary and it just shows that if we do what we are supposed to do, we are capable of a lot of big things.”

There weren’t too many big plays for UCLA on Saturday, but it didn’t really matter. The Bruins needed a win against the Utes after their loss last week, and they did just that.

“We needed a tough game like that. Games like that build character,” Mora said.

“I’m proud of the way our guys bounced back from a tough loss last week. Our guys came today and played a really good game against a really physical team.”

Correction: For the headline: UCLA did not sweep Utah in a series. UCLA beat Utah in a football game Saturday. For the article: A little more than two minutes after finding the end zone with his feet, redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley hit redshirt junior wide receiver Shaquelle Evans for a 64-yard touchdown pass. Also, the Bruin defense held Utah to just 75 rushing yards.

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