UCLA football: 3 takeaways from tough loss at No. 11 Utah

Chip Kelly’s high-powered UCLA football offense was completely shut down by Utah on Saturday, and the Utes did just enough offensively to come away with a victory. Here’s what we can take away from a difficult Bruin road trip.

1. Dante Moore struggled mightily

There’s no way around it, Dante Moore had a rough outing on Saturday. He finished the day 15-of-35 for 234 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

That interception was a pick-six on Moore’s very first pass.

Moore got no help from his offensive line during this contest. He was sacked seven times on Saturday, especially in pivotal moments. When UCLA had the ball at the end of the game, down seven points, the freshman quarterback dropped back to pass three plays in a row. On all three plays, the Utes were in the backfield immediately.

This was Moore’s first start against a Power Five opponent, so there’s obviously an expectation of growth, but this was a tough start to his career against elite competition. Without help from his line, that growth will be hard to come by.

2. The running game was unreliable

UCLA’s inability to run the ball was another detriment to Moore’s debut and another ill that can be blamed on the Bruin offensive line. The passing game may have struggled, but the running game was absolutely anemic.

On 32 carries Saturday. the Bruins gained just nine yards. Brutal.

It doesn’t get any better when factoring out sacks. Obviously, in college, those are counted as rushing attempts. When you take them out, UCLA gained just 60 yards on 22 carries. That’s 2.7 yards per tote.

The quarterback situations, both the absence of Utah’s Cam Rising, and the hype around Moore, got all the attention, but the biggest storyline of this game was the battle up front.

In that facet of the game, the Bruins were outmatched and outmanned all day long. The Utes were just far too physical for UCLA.

No matter how you slice it, this was an abysmal day on the ground for UCLA.

3. Bruin defense was a bright spot

This game ended with a scuffle at midfield, and the primary parties involved were UCLA defensive players.

It’s easy to understand why tempers were high for Bruin defenders. They played a tremendous game, and their efforts were completely unmatched by their offensive teammates. It’s tough to deal with a loss when you get outmatched, but it’s even tougher when you do everything right and still taste defeat.

UCLA’s defense held Nate Johnson to just 9-of-17 for 117 yards. They held the Ute running game to 102 yards on 48 attempts. They sacked Johnson four times and registered 11 tackles for loss.

The Bruin defense did everything right. They’ve been great all season, and if the offense can bounce back from this atrocious performance, UCLA could still make some serious waves in the loaded Pac-12.