Utah Football: 3 takeaways from blowout win over UCLA in Week 12

1. UCLA isn’t ready for the big stage, Utah is

The miscues alone are enough to tell the UCLA Bruins aren’t ready for the big stage yet.

First, their youth showed itself tonight against Utah. Sophomore quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson didn’t start at quarterback until his senior year of high school. He still has a lot of growing yet to do. He’s still learning how to play quarterback while simultaneously leading his team to wins. They’ve improved by leaps and bounds from last season, but they still have ways to go.

That’s a recipe for disaster when you are facing a team looking to prove they are one of the best teams in college football. Schematically, the Utes did as much as they could to confuse Thompson-Robinson. Head coach Chip Kelly tried to get the ball out of his hands quickly, but they squeezed the field defensively since the Bruins didn’t really try to push the ball.

One thing is a fact, the Bruins are talented, but young. They’ll be a force in the coming years in the Pac-12, but they aren’t ready for the main stage quite yet.