Utah junior running back John White spins away from defensive tackle Donovan Carter (left) and redshirt junior linebacker Patrick Larimore (right) in the fourth quarter.
SALT LAKE CITY “”mdash; UCLA defenders sat hunched over in the visitors’ locker room at Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, their teeth chattering with each word they tried to force out. They were trying to explain what had just happened to the UCLA defense in a 31-6 loss to Utah on Saturday.
It was the perfect storm for a UCLA loss.
A combination of snow and Utah’s running back John White IV covered the field during what was the second coldest game in the stadium’s history. White and the Utes took away the Bruins’ chance at winning three games in a row, as they now must win one of their final two games to become bowl eligible.
“Their offensive line came to play and the holes that he was running through were kind of big,” redshirt junior cornerback Aaron Hester said. “(White) was a smaller, slippery kind of dude. We have to fix something.”
White was the catalyst, but the elements, Utah’s sellout crowd of 45,039 and a bunch of unmotivated, undisciplined Bruins came together to make UCLA’s first Pac-12 trip to Utah result in its fifth loss of the season.
Redshirt junior defensive end Datone Jones ““ part of a defensive line that gave up 224 rushing yards Saturday ““ had an explanation.
“The fans are here; it’s snowing; there are a lot of distractions and everything is red,” Jones said. “The only thing that it comes down to is the team who wants it more. They wanted it more. They played with more emotion than we did today.”
White, who accounted for 167 of those yards had to agree.
“Our offensive line wanted it more than (UCLA’s) defensive line,” White said.
The lackluster performance from first-year defensive coordinator Joe Tresey’s defense is nothing new; it’s just three weeks old. UCLA’s defense showed marked improvement in wins over Cal and Arizona State, but the defense looked to revert back to its old ways on Saturday, especially while defending the run.
“It spiraled out of control and God, I don’t know,” Tresey said. “We have to do a better job. Our run defense has been very porous.”
Flags a plenty
Amid the white, snow-covered field at Rice-Eccles Stadium, there was plenty of yellow. UCLA was penalized a season-high 12 times for a total of 91 yards, 10 of which came in the first half.
Costly penalties continually stalled UCLA drives, considering six of those 12 penalties were false starts. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel attributed the early jumping to “stemming” or yelling from Utah’s defensive linemen that sounded like a quarterback’s cadence.
“When you say ‘move’ it can sound a lot like ‘hut,’ especially when guys are tying to keep track of everything,” Neuheisel said. “Some of our youngsters jumped.”
Redshirt senior offensive lineman Mike Harris, one of eight fifth-year players on the team, was called for four false starts of his own.
“The defensive line’s communication kind of threw me off on one of them,” Harris said, “We just have to play smart.”
Chow prevails
Former UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow faced off against his old team Saturday in his first season as Utah’s offensive play caller. Chow won the battle of offensive wits as UCLA failed to score a touchdown.
Chow made his way over to the visiting team’s media tent after the game to shake hands and share kind words with Neuheisel, his former boss. According to senior linebacker Sean Westgate, Chow’s familiarity with the Bruins didn’t give him the upper hand.
“Chow doesn’t know anything about coach Tresey and our defense beside what he’s seen on film,” Westgate said. “It’s a whole new system so it was his adjustments week to week. He’s a good coach. That’s why he’s got the accolades.”