UCLA Football: Position Grades for tough loss at No. 10 Utah

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Sep 23, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; UCLA Bruins defensive back Kamari Ramsey (27) and defensive back John Humphrey (6). Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports /

While the offense struggled mightily, the defense held up its end of the bargain on Saturday. This was a strong game for D’Anton Lynn’s defense.

Defensive Line: B

The Bruins were absolutely stout up front. They weren’t the highlight group on the defense, and Laiatu Latu didn’t have a flashy, multi-sack game, but the defensive line did exactly what was needed of it on Saturday. This group took up space, disrupted offensive blocking schemes, and allowed the Bruin linebackers to have a banner day.

Linebackers: A

Kain Medrano emerged on Saturday, racking up ten tackles, two sacks, and 2.5 tackles for loss. Darius Muasau alongside him was great as well, getting a sack and a tackle for loss of his own. This group seems to have gotten better every week, and they were standouts against the Utes.

Utah’s running game was shut down all day by this front seven, gaining just 102 yards on 48 attempts, good for a rate of just 2.1 yards per carry.

Secondary: A

When the front seven forced the Utes to throw the ball, Nate Johnson wasn’t able to get much going at all through the air on Saturday. The Utah quarterback finished the day 9-of-17 for just 117 yards and a single touchdown.

This wasn’t a flashy day for the secondary, but it was a successful one nonetheless. Ute receivers had trouble getting open all day long, and while the Bruins didn’t register any interceptions on Saturday, they also didn’t give up any big plays.

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