Scouting Report: UCLA vs. Utah

UCLA football (4-5, 4-2 Pac-12) will put its three-game winning streak on the line against No. 7 Utah (8-1, 5-1) on Saturday in Salt Lake City. Can the Bruins pull off the road upset and continue to control their own destiny in the Pac-12 South? Here is this week’s scouting report by Daily Bruin staff writer Jack Perez – who hopes this is finally the year for the Pac-12 to shatter the East Coast bias and break into the College Football Playoff.

Utah’s offense

Base formations: Spread

Run-pass percentage: 65.1% run, 34.9% pass

Strength: Multiple playmakers, ball security

Weakness: No game-changer in passing game

X-factor: RB Zack Moss

The Utah offense has rarely struggled to score this season.

Coach Kyle Whittingham has led the Utes to the 35th-ranked offense in the country, and the unit has scored 33.1 points per game. Its lowest output of the season was a 21-point outing against Arizona State, which Utah still won.

Running back Zack Moss has carried the rushing offense for the third straight season. The second-team All-Pac-12 player has 137 carries for 828 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, while adding 215 receiving yards and one touchdown on 13 receptions.

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Quarterback Tyler Huntley has not been asked to do too much in the passing game, but he is efficient when he does air it out. He currently sits at 141 completions on 191 passes for 2,062 yards, 11 touchdowns and just one interception. He has also added four touchdowns and 235 yards with his legs – both second on the team.

The only “problem” the Utes have is that they have no clear-cut leader in the receiving corps. Wide receiver Demari Simpkins leads the group in catches, Bryan Thompson is first in receiving yards, and Thompson and Brant Kuithe are tied for most touchdown grabs with three apiece.

The biggest worries for the Bruins should be during the second quarter. The Utes have outscored opponents 113-29 in the frame this season, as they often put the game away before halftime.

Moss and Huntley can control the tempo against UCLA and have proven that by winning each home game this fall by at least three scores. Even with the current streak UCLA is on, the Utah offense should still be able to get at least 30 points.

Colorado’s defense

Base defense: 4-3

Blitz tendency: Medium

Strength: Rush and pass defense

Weakness: Team Sacks

X-factor: DE Bradlee Anae

The Utah defense is the best that UCLA will have to face all season.

The Utes currently rank in the top bracket in almost every defensive category. They currently have the third total defense in the country based on yards conceded per game and only allow the opposition to convert 27.9% of their third-down chances, good for fifth in the nation.

They also sport the sixth-best scoring defense, as they have allowed just 12.2 points per game. The team is even tougher in Salt Lake City, as opponents have scored just 6.6 points per game at Rice-Eccles Stadium, with two teams failing to score altogether.

One of Utah’s weaker units is its pass defense, but even that ranks 19th in the country. The Ute secondary gave up just 13 points to Washington State, which has the top-ranked passing attack in the country and scored 63 points against UCLA on Sept. 21.

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The rush defense has been the best in the nation this season, holding teams to just 56 rushing yards per game. This will not be the Bruins’ first game against a top rushing defense, as they faced the second-ranked rushing defense in San Diego State earlier this year.

Anae is leading the Utes’ pass rush with eight sacks and nine tackles for loss, resulting in a total of 107 yards lost. He does this almost single-handedly, as Utah has just 18 sacks this season, tied for 73rd in the country and 22 spots behind UCLA for that matter.

Sophomore quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and redshirt senior running back Joshua Kelley have helped turn around the Bruin offense that has now scored at least 31 points in each of its past four games. However, this will be the their biggest test by far, and the duo will have to pull off a magical performance to get past this stout defense.