As hot as UCLA finished its 62-27 win over ASU last Thursday, its start to Saturday’s game against Utah was equal and opposite in its sluggishness, as the Bruins trail the Utes 17-7 at halftime.
On offense, UCLA’s first two drives stalled and its third ended with redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley lofting a ball way over redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins’ head for an interception, which Utah returned for a touchdown.
The Utes followed the score with a surprise onside kick, which they recovered. However, the Bruin defense held firm. At least at first.
After limiting Utah to 16 yards and no first downs on its first four drives, UCLA’s defense struggled to adapt when Utah switched from Travis Wilson to Kendal Thompson as its quarterback. Behind Thompson, the Utes finally began moving the ball, scoring on a 42-yard pass to wide receiver Dres Anderson to complete an 87-yard drive. The Bruins found themselves trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter.
But that Utah score woke UCLA up. On the Bruins’ ensuing offensive drive, they drove 82 yards, 60 of which came from Perkins, who finished things off with a four-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-7 Utah.
UCLA’s defense continued to have problems slowing Thompson down, however, as Utah was able to move the ball with relative ease for the remainder of the half. The Utes hit a 48-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in the half to take a 17-7 lead into halftime.
Utah’s defense finished the half with five sacks, exploiting a UCLA offensive line that looked nothing like the group that stood strong a week ago against a relentless ASU pass rush.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.