Football Monday: UCLA v. Utah

Every UCLA football Saturday has so much more to it than a win or a loss. That’s why each postgame Monday, the Daily Bruin will break down the Bruins’ most recent game, outlining the good, the bad and the verdict for their performance.

This week, we take a closer look at UCLA’s 30-28 loss to Utah on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

The Good: Paul Perkins running the ball

The brightest spot in the blot of dark ink that was UCLA’s 30-28 loss to Utah came from a player who spent most of the second half on the sidelines. That much told the story of how poorly UCLA played on Saturday.

Redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins, who played little in the second half because of what coach Jim Mora called “sickness,” had 99 yards on 17 carries with one rush touchdown.

Coming into the game, Utah led the Pac-12 in rush yards allowed at just 3 yards per carry. Perkins averaged 5.8 yards per carry, and Saturday’s performance – another good one from him – proves once more that he is developing into a go-to back for the Bruins.

The Bad: UCLA’s offensive line

For the second time in five games, the title of the “The Bad” in the football review series belongs to the offensive line, and deservedly so.

Again and again, redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley was pushed around, knocked to the ground and sacked. In all, Hundley was sacked 10 times.

Some of the sacks were because Hundley simply held on to the ball too long or rushed to scramble. But most were because Utah’s front seven, and specifically its defensive line, kept beating the Bruin offensive lineman, like a videotape stuck on replay. That’s one videotape UCLA needs to watch over and over, learn from and then burn. For good measure, bury the ashes too.

The Verdict: This one hurts

That much was clear watching the Bruin football players after the team’s final field goal attempt missed just wide right.

Some hung their heads, and others seemed as if they couldn’t grasp what had just happened. Their walks into the locker rooms turned more into trudges, slow and defeated. It was as if a huge gash had been punched through the Bruins’ balloons of hope.

With four of the top-six teams losing this weekend, No. 8 UCLA had an opportunity to jump into the top five nationally, to become a legitimate College Football Playoff contender and to head into next week’s showdown with Oregon undefeated.

Instead, down went the Bruins. It was a loss UCLA could ill afford. Not only was it a conference loss, but now, if UCLA hopes to make the playoff, it will likely have to win out.

That’s a tall task, considering opponents like Oregon, Arizona, USC and Stanford remain on its schedule, not to mention the Pac-12 championship game, if UCLA qualifies.

A loss doesn’t entirely doom the Bruins’ season, but it makes the climb that much harder and that much steeper.

Player of the Game: Junior wide receiver Devin Fuller

This would go to Perkins, but he didn’t play most of the game. So instead, the honor goes to Fuller.

Early in the fourth quarter, with UCLA down 10 and at its own 7-yard line, Fuller brought the Rose Bowl, which had just minutes ago been booing, back to roars and cheers – the loudest of the night up until that point. Fuller ran a wheel route down the sideline, got behind the defense and caught a lofted pass from Hundley. The rest was just a race down the sideline, and an easy one to win for Fuller and his track-like speed.

It went down as a 93-yard touchdown reception, and cut UCLA’s deficit to 24-21 early in the fourth quarter.

Quote of the Week: Hundley on UCLA’s post-loss locker room atmosphere:

“You know, a lot of people were quiet. A lot of people were quiet because we knew we missed a big opportunity for us. But basically what we said was, ‘We just got to understand that we missed this opportunity. We did. And all it was was a missed opportunity. But we have another opportunity next week. So we can’t keep our heads down.’”

Compiled by Chris Kalra, Bruin Sports senior staff.