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

By Connor Muldowney

PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 20: (L-R) Demetric Felton #10, Joshua Kelley #27, Devin Asiasi #86 and Jake Burton #73 of the UCLA Bruins celebrate Kelley's rushing touchdown during the second half of the NCAA college football game against the Arizona Wildcats at the Rose Bowl on October 20, 2018 in Pasadena, California. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats 31-30. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 20: (L-R) Demetric Felton #10, Joshua Kelley #27, Devin Asiasi #86 and Jake Burton #73 of the UCLA Bruins celebrate Kelley's rushing touchdown during the second half of the NCAA college football game against the Arizona Wildcats at the Rose Bowl on October 20, 2018 in Pasadena, California. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats 31-30. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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BERKELEY, CA – OCTOBER 13: Keisean Lucier-South #11 of the UCLA Bruins is congratulated by teammates after he interecepted a pass against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
BERKELEY, CA – OCTOBER 13: Keisean Lucier-South #11 of the UCLA Bruins is congratulated by teammates after he interecepted a pass against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

1. UCLA has big-time momentum

You could argue that Utah, too, has momentum, but the Utes will be hitting the road where it’s much easier to falter while UCLA stays home for the second straight game, looking for back-to-back home victories.

UCLA’s momentum is a bit different than Utah’s, though. Before Week 7, the Bruins were losing hope that they would ever win a game in 2018. They just assumed that Chip Kelly’s first season at the helm would be a lost cause and one or two wins would be the starting point for the new head coach’s tenure.

That has all changed.

That first win against Cal on the road gave the Bruins new life. A huge weight was lifted off their backs and they thought to themselves that winning wasn’t impossible, after all. Then they beat Arizona in Week 8, giving them two straight victories and keeping bowl hopes alive. Now the Bruins believe they can beat anyone — especially after hanging in with Washington in Week 6 before the winning streak.

This momentum can go a much further way than Utah’s. The Utes are forced to hit the road to put their ranking on the line while UCLA is aiming to play spoiler with nothing to lose.

Next. NFL Mock Draft 2019: First round after Week 8. dark

A team with nothing to lose is dangerous and the Utes will soon find that out.

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