Know Your Opponent: UCLA Football vs. Utah 2018

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PROVO, UT – SEPTEMBER 9: Chase Hansen #22 of the Utah Utes gestures to the Utes fans in the first half against the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images) /

Utah Defense

It does not get any easier on this side of the football. UCLA has improved their offensive attack, but who knows what will happen or who will be leading the offense, Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Wilton Speight. Either way, they have the tough task of trying to get past the Utah defense at every single level.

The run defense is especially scary. For the season, they are averaging 6.4 tackles for a loss, 2.9 sacks per game and limiting teams to 74.6 yards. Many were worried about the defensive line at the beginning of the season as the lost some key players, but since then they have a few guys that are showing their muscle.

"DID YOU KNOW? Since Kye Whittingham has been the head coach of Utah, he has had a bowl record of 11-1. I wonder what that’s like…"

Bradlee Anae has proven to be a headache for offenses as he has 6.5 TFLs and leads the team in sacks with 5 on the year. He also has 3 pass breakups. John Penisini is another concern on the line as he has got into the backfield 5 times for TFLs and 2 sacks. And this is just the surface of the DL. What makes matters worse is that the line is probably the weakest group on Utah’s defense.

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The linebacker group is quite possibly the best in the Pac-12. Led by Chase Hansen, who should be a consensus All-Pac-12 Defensive First Teamer, is a player that does not stay put as he gets all over the field. He leads the team in tackles (63), tackles for a loss (14), interceptions (tied with 2) and second in sacks (4). If I was Chip Kelly, I would make sure the ball is kept as far away from this human as possible. But he is not the only LB the Bruins have to worry about. Cody Barton and Donovan Thompson are the perfect compliments to Hansen. Both are aggressive and have combined for a total of 78 tackles this season. But that is not all!

2018 Utah Defensive Stats

Total – 286.4 | Rushing – 74.6 | Passing – 211.9 | Scoring – 17.7

Utah was able to shut down the potent USC receivers as they limited the Trojans to only 132 yards through the air. Javelin Guidry and Jaylen Johnson are third and fourth on the team in tackles with 28 and 26, respectively. Guidry is making a case to be one of the top defensive backs in the conference. Not only does he have 3 TFLs, but he has broken up 7 passes this season. Johnson is tied for the most INTs with two. He is a quiet killer as he comes on with his pressure slowly, but once he does, he will be able to shut down receivers that make their way to his side of the field.

So you can see why the Bruins have a tough task on their hands. UCLA has improved their offense exponentially in the last few games, but will they be able to crack the Utah defensive code? They have stood tall against the tough defenses that Washington and Cal brought to the game, but Utah seems to be a bigger challenge. The key for UCLA is to get the run game going. Even if DTR/Speight have solid passing games, they will not be able to get the win unless the ground game is running on all cylinders.