Scouting Report: UCLA at Utah
(Daily Bruin file photo)
By Vikram Sairam
Nov. 2, 2017 1:36 a.m.
Saturday’s matchup against Utah (4-4, 1-4 Pac-12) poses a particularly interesting matchup for UCLA football (4-4, 2-3).
Last season, the Bruins fell to head coach Kyle Whittingham’s group in a 52-45 shootout in which then-Utes running back Joe Williams broke their school rushing record with 315 yards on the ground.
Williams would become a fourth-round pick of the following year’s draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Despite losing Williams and the struggles the Utes have seen eight games into the 2017 season, this group should be keeping it extremely close against a Bruin team that has also been in a funk.
Additionally, junior quarterback Josh Rosen’s ability to suit up Friday night is still an unknown. If coach Jim Mora’s bunch wants to continue their three-game winning streak in Salt Lake City – and put an end to their eight-game road losing streak – they’ll have to contain Utah’s balanced offensive attack and additionally improve in their defense what has look liked suspect play in the last weeks.
Here’s a breakdown of Utah’s offensive and defensive schemes heading into Friday’s matchup in Salt Lake City.
Utah’s offense
Base formation: multiple
Run/pass ratio: 50/50
Strengths: ability to stay in games
Weaknesses: offensive line play
X-factor: wide receiver Darren Carrington II
Utah’s offense has been inconsistent thus far, often finding itself in situations in which it’s unable to close out games.
This was the team that was 4-0 – including wins against now-No. 25 Arizona and BYU – entering its matchup against Stanford on Oct. 7. Utah ended up losing that game by three points because the offense scored with too little time left and Stanford’s offense ran out the clock.
Fast forward one week later to Los Angeles, and Utah’s late-game struggles continued – only this time the Utes lost by one point to the now-No. 17 USC on a failed two-point conversion with under two minutes left in the game. Again, the defense had no chance at stopping the Trojans from wasting the clock and ending the game.
Utah lost its next two games by 20 and 21 points respectively – to Arizona State and Oregon. So maybe now it’s a little more clear as to why this matchup is so intriguing: A struggling Utes offense will face a depleted and inconsistent Bruin defense, and both teams sit at 4-4 with sub-.500 conference records.
That being said, Utah has enough playmakers to cause trouble for the Bruin defense. Darren Carrington II has undoubtedly been the Utes go-to receiver all season long. Quarterback Tyler Huntley has only thrown for 1414 yards in eight games, but 779 of those have come on just 54-Carrington II catches – five for touchdowns. That’s an astounding 14.4 yards a reception.
The graduate transfer was Oregon’s leading receiver in 2016, and earned second team All-Pac-12 honors the year before. At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Carrington II is a big body that still has enough speed to take defensive backs over the top.
Check out this 46-yard haul against Oregon.
Carrington will be a lot to handle for true freshman defensive back Darnay Holmes and the rest of the Bruin secondary, but the Utes also have a pretty good running back in Zack Moss. Seeing mainly backup duties last year to Williams, Moss has taken some time to adjust to his new role as the starter. He’s only gained 587 yards on the ground so far, but that comes on 5.1 yards a carry.
Moss is also more of a pass-catching threat than the backs UCLA has seen thus far, boasting 23 receptions for 163 yards receiving. Watch this clip below in which he hauls in a 17-yard pass against Arizona State.
Arizona’s Nick Wilson had failed to reach triple-digit yardage on the ground in his four games of the season, but exploded for 135 in his fifth game against UCLA. The same could happen for Moss, as the UCLA defensive line has seen injuries to senior Matt Dickerson and redshirt sophomore Rick Wade, forcing young faces into the mix.
One more thing: Huntley has been sacked 12 times this year, including six in his last two games. Expect the Bruins defensive line to bring some pressure.
Utah’s defense
Base formation: 4-3
Blitz tendency: medium to heavy
Strengths: veteran group front seven
Weaknesses: corners prone to big pass plays
X-factor: defensive end Kylie Fitts
The Utah defense looked like one of the best in the conference six games into the season.
Sitting at 4-2, the unit held Stanford’s explosive rushing attack to 23 points and held USC to 28 despite – albeit on 532 yards of total offense. But its performances against ASU and Oregon in the last two weeks has changed its perception.
Ducks running back Royce Freeman rushed for 139 yards on 6.9 yards a carry last week, and his backup Tony Brooks-James went off for 105 on the ground on just six carries. Comparable to the 58 carries the University of Washington put up against UCLA in Seattle this weekend, Oregan ran the ball 49 times for 347 yards on the Utes.
However, this defense is full of veteran players that have been here before. Eight of its 11 starters are juniors or seniors – with the other three underclassmen starting in the secondary.
So far this season, Utah’s Kylie Fitts has been an impressive force on the defensive line, registering a team-leading three sacks. He’s also second on the team in tackles for loss.
Originally, the defensive end was a Bruin until transferring to Utah after one season in Westwood. Watch him blow up San Jose State’s quarterback and force a fumble.
Linebackers Kavika Luafatasaga and Sunia Tauteoli also pose a formible duo at the linebacker spot, as Luafatasaga leads the Utes in tackles with 50, and Tauteoli leads in tackles for loss with eight and a half.
Both seniors will look to command the middle and confuse either redshirt freshman quarterback Devon Modster or Rosen. Luafatasaga plays the rover spot in defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley’s scheme – a hybrid linebacker that can play the run or drop back in coverage. As the team’s leading tackler, expect Scalley to use him in multiple fronts and packages to create pressure toward the quarterback.
Watch him use his athleticism to get in position for an interception on this play.
This should be a very close game between two struggling conference foes. The Bruins will need to sport an effective rushing attack to see success against this defense, especially if Rosen is unavailable to lead an efficient aerial attack.
