A ROLLING ZONE TACKLES NO MOSS

Zack Moss es mas macho — Utah’s Zack Moss runs for 211 yards and 3 Touchdowns as the Utes convincingly end UCLA’s 2-game winning streak, 41-10

All the problems that UCLA overcame to eke out a victory over Arizona last week returned this week against Utah, and the Utes made the Bruins pay.  Number One on that list of deficiencies was missed tackles.  There were 18 of them against the Wildcats, and that number didn’t seem to decrease on Friday night, as Utah ran wild .

After UCLA got up 7-3 on a 25-yard TD run by Joshua Kelley, Utah went on a 38-3 surge to close out the 41-10 drubbing.  And they did it mostly on the ground, behind Running Back Zack Moss, who gained 211 yards on 26 carries, with 3 TD’s, and a 60-yard non-scoring scamper.

Utah as a team gained 325 yards on the ground, and 4 TD’s.  And it wasn’t just their gigantic Offensive Line (one of the largest in the Country) opening gaping holes.  In fact, the Bruins usually had a defender in the right place to make a play on the ball carrier.  However, that FIRST Defensive Player rarely was able to bring down the Utah Backs.  The Ute Offensive Players kept making the first defender miss, or they were able to break the initial tackle.

It wasn’t just sloppy tackling that doomed the Bruins to their 6th loss of the season.  Adarius Pickett muffed a punt that led to Utah’s first score, and then later dropped an Interception that was his for the taking.  And speaking of DROPS… The Bruin Receivers did not do Wilton Speight any favors, as Caleb Wilson and Dymond Lee both dropped crucial, potentially drive-extending passes, and Demetric Felton dropped another sure Touchdown Pass.

And Speight, who started out 5-for-5 but then went 2-for-10 for 12 yards (while Utah took control of the game), missed several open Receivers, including Kelley on a wheel route that would have been 7 points.  Speight played because Dorian Thompson-Robinson is still dealing with a shoulder injury, and was ruled OUT right before the Kickoff.

Speight did little to advocate for him taking the Starter’s job permanently.  Although he WAS crafty, extended plays, avoided the rush, and moved the chains with moxie and creativity, he finished 20-40 for only 164 yards, with no TD’s and TWO Interceptions.  Sure those stats were marred by several dropped passes, but for a 5th year Senior, there are just too many balls thrown behind Receivers, and just plain off-target.

I’m not saying Speight was the goat.  Utah killed UCLA, and no one player could have changed that.  UCLA committed only 5 penalties, and although one of them cost UCLA 3 points right before Halftime, it wouldn’t have made any difference.  When it came down to it, UCLA couldn’t stop the Utah running game, and that’s all the Utes needed to run away with this game.

The silver lining here is that the result of this game hurts u$c, who lost to Utah last week and who needs Utah to lose again in order to win the Pac-12 South Division.

The GOLDEN LINING to attending an event where your team gets destroyed, and you miss a historic World Series game (although it was still on when Bruin fans got home), and you are in an empty Stadium devoid of the normal energy you would expect… is that you get to enjoy the UCLA Spirit Squad, who shows up week after week, even when the Football team doesn’t.  Here are 54 more game and Cheer photos from Friday night at the Rose Bowl.