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 running back Carson Steele (33) is tackled by five Utah Utes in the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports /

Special Teams: C

Everything about the special teams was average on Saturday. RJ Lopez nailed his lone kick, an extra point. Will Powers punted eight times, downing just one inside the 20 but flipping field position consistently for the Bruins. Colson Yankoff and Logan Loya were contained in the return game by Utah’s solid kick coverage teams.

Not a whole lot to write home about for the special teams.

Overall Grade: C

How do you grade a game in which one unit was awful and one unit was tremendous? You meet in the middle. A “C” grade may feel high after watching that offense for 60 minutes, but despite that inept day, the defense kept UCLA in this game until the end.

Morgan Scalley’s unit was the best defense that the Bruins will play all year, so it’s tough to imagine things getting any worse than that. Moore and Co. will have plenty of opportunities to get right against Oregon State, Stanford, Colorado, and USC.

If they do indeed right the ship, the Bruins could still be poised for a big year. The offensive line must improve for that to happen, but as stifling as that defeat was, this UCLA squad could still be in the Pac-12 hunt come November.

Next. A closer look at UCLA's defense. dark

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