UCLA Football: 5 reasons the Bruins will upset Utah in Week 9

Friday night will feature some great Pac-12 After Dark action between Utah and UCLA football. Here’s why the Bruins will pull off the upset.

Who knew that Chip Kelly would find it so difficult to win in his first season with UCLA? The Bruins weren’t exactly expected to contend in the Pac-12 in Kelly’s first season, but no one thought an 0-5 start was likely, especially with Cincinnati and Fresno State on the schedule.

Two wins later, the Bruins are looking like one of the most improved teams in the conference.

Utah comes to town to face the suddenly-hot Bruins and the Utes, too, are riding some momentum, but they’ll have to steal one on the road from UCLA if they’re going to remain in the Pac-12 title race.

However, this Friday night battle will be going the Bruins’ way, and here’s why.

5. Home-field advantage is key

This may not seem like the biggest of deals, but UCLA nearly pulled off an upset of Washington at home and the Rose Bowl will be rocking on Friday night.

One of the coolest venues in all of sports, the Rose Bowl plays home to the Bruins and Utah will find this contest difficult for that reason. A Friday night game under the lights in hostile territory will play tricks on the minds of the Utes and they’ll suffer their second road loss in three tries.

The last loss came at Washington State though the Utes did beat a tough Stanford team on the road in Week 6. They did, however, struggle against Northern Illinois on the road in Week 2, scoring just 17 points and winning by 11.

Home-field advantage in the Pac-12 is real because of the whole ‘Pac-12 After Dark’ motto. That may just seem like a cool phrase to describe late-night Pac-12 games, but it’s a way of life out west. These aren’t just typical night games, they’re wild, whacky, upset-ridden contests. Utah will be the latest victim.