UCLA football falls to Utah by 20 points in worst loss since 2019

This post was updated Nov. 1 at 12:52 a.m.

SALT LAKE CITY — Entering Saturday night, the Bruins touted the best rushing defense in the Pac-12.

But that didn’t stop the Utes from running wild on Halloween eve.

UCLA football (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12) sustained a 44-24 loss to Utah (5-3, 4-1) on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, marking the blue and gold’s fifth consecutive loss to its Pac-12 South rival. The Utes scored five of their six touchdowns on the ground while accumulating 290 rushing yards, more \than any Bruin opponent since Oklahoma gained 309 yards on the ground in 2019.

“We played – even this year – very well on the defensive side of the ball, and I think our defense has improved,” said coach Chip Kelly. “Tonight, we did not play well in the rush category to give up that many yards.”

The Bruins found themselves facing their largest halftime deficit of the season after giving up a season-high 28 first-half points to the Utes. The home team scored four touchdowns in the opening half, and three of them came on the ground courtesy of running back Tavion Thomas.

“The first half, we were trying to figure out what they were going to do,” said redshirt senior linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath. “They were throwing a lot of things at us, and we gave it to them in the first half, and that’s not OK.” 

While UCLA allowed touchdowns on Utah’s first four possessions, the blue and gold ended the first half with a defensive stand and held the home team to zero points in the third quarter. 

Genmark Heath said the Bruins were able to catch their breath after the initial 28-point burst by the Utes.

“We came out slow. That’s just not like us – especially, we don’t let teams run the ball on us,” Genmark Heath said. “Once we decided that enough was enough, we came out and started playing our type of football.”

During the third quarter, the Bruins were able to tack on seven points to cut the deficit to 11 on redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Garbers’ first career touchdown pass – a 6-yard strike to senior tight end Michael Ezeike.

Starting in place of senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Garbers threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns on 27-of-44 passing.

“It was subpar because the biggest thing is getting that ‘W’ and getting the win, and we didn’t pull it out,” Garbers said. “I’m not satisfied with anything.”

Kelly, on the other hand, said he was satisfied with Garbers’ performance – especially considering Utah’s record crowd of 51,922 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

“(Garbers) is a cool customer,” Kelly said. “This is always a tough place to play. Utah has a great home-field advantage, and the crowd does an unbelievable job. … (I’m) happy with the way Ethan played.”

But UCLA couldn’t hold Utah off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, as Ute quarterback Cameron Rising ran one in from 12 yards out on the first play of the final quarter for his second touchdown of the night. Rising rushed for 63 yards across the entire game.

The Bruins again reduced the Utes’ lead to 11 on Garbers’ second touchdown pass of the contest midway through the fourth quarter. However, that was the closest the road team would get in the final frame.

A missed blocking assignment by senior offensive lineman Atonio Mafi resulted in a UCLA safety, giving Utah a 13-point advantage and possession of the ball. The Utes again turned their possession into points, and they did so in familiar fashion. Thomas’ fourth touchdown of the night gave Utah a decisive 20-point lead and handed UCLA its worst defeat since 2019, which came in a 49-3 loss also at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

“They didn’t do anything special – they were doing the same thing that we’ve seen,” Genmark Heath said. “Anytime you give the offense the confidence to run the ball on us, you get put in a sticky situation.”

The loss puts UCLA in a tie for third place in the Pac-12 South with crosstown rival USC, while Utah now owns sole possession of first place in the division.

“This team battles, this team is resilient. I love their effort, I love how they approach every day, I love how they train, I love everything they do,” Kelly said. “But there’s some things we have to clean up to win games in this league.”