Balanced Offense Beats Bruins, 48-17

Friday, November 3

Salt Lake City, Utah

7:30 PM

University of Utah

5-4 , 2-4

UCLA

4-5 , 2-4

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
UCLA	0	10	0	7	17
UTAH	7	10	21	10	48

11/3/2017 11:09 PM | Football

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SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah football program ended its four-game losing streak with a dominant 48-17 win over the UCLA Bruins on Friday night, improving to 5-4 overall and 2-4 in Pac-12 play.

The Utes came out firing from all cylinders, having success on offense, defense and special teams. Utah held UCLA to 249 total offensive yards while accumulating 506 themselves, also coming away with a turnover on special teams.

Tyler Huntley finished the game 15-of-22 for 234 yards, tying his career-high with four touchdowns. He added 93 yards on the ground while Zack Moss led the Utes in rushing with a career-high 153 yards and two touchdowns.

Troy McCormick, Jr. had two catches for 88 yards, both going for touchdowns while Darren Carrington II pulled in four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown with Siaosi Wilson adding two snags for 58 yards.

On defense, Sunia Tauteoli led the Utes in tackles for the fourth time this season, notching a career-high 12. Kavika Luafatasaga added nine with Casey Hughes coming up with six.

Mitch Wishnowsky averaged 46.5 yards per punt with Boobie Hobbs returning three punts on the other side for 46 yards. Matt Gay rounded out Utah's special teams with two field goals, including his fourth this season of 50 yards or longer.

It was a special teams standout that set up the Utes first touchdown of the game when Caleb Repp forced a fumble on a punt return with Hobbs coming up with the recovery, giving Utah the ball on the UCLA 16-yard-line. Four plays later, Moss punched in a three-yard rushing touchdown to give Utah a 7-0 lead with 2:57 left in the first quarter.

On UCLA's next offensive drive to open the second quarter, the Utes were able to hold the Bruins to just a 37-yard field goal with 14:23 on the clock. The scoring drive took 3:23 off the clock for seven plays and 71 yards, making it 7-3.

Utah took a 14-3 lead with 6:08 left in the second quarter when Huntley found Carrington for a 25-yard touchdown. The duo took advantage of Carrington being in single coverage with the senior pulling in the catch right on the sideline of the end zone to end a 10-play, 73-yard drive that burned 4:44 off the clock.

Unfortunately for the Utes, UCLA quickly answered on just the fifth play of their next drive, scoring on a 24-yard pass to cut the Utah lead to 14-10. The drive ended at the 4:24 mark in the second quarter, taking up five plays for 75 yards with 50 of their 75-yard drive coming in the final two plays of the drive to put them in scoring territory.

Utah was able to punch in a 25-yard field goal on the foot of Gay with seven seconds left to play in the second quarter after the Utes struggled to get into the end zone. It put the Utes up 17-10, ending an 11-play, 68-yard drive that took 4:17 off the clock to end the half.

Utah wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the second half with McCormick scored on a 75-yard pass from Huntley in just the first 12 seconds of the third quarter. The 75-yard touchdown is Utah's longest of the season, giving Utah a 24-10 advantage with 14:48 remaining in the quarter.

The scoring continued for the Utes when Moss found a hole and made the most of it, scoring on a 20-yard rushing touchdown to put Utah up 31-10 with 9:04 left to play in the third quarter. Moss's second touchdown of the game ended a 10-play, 69-yard drive for 4:25.

At the 7:13 mark in the third quarter, Huntley and McCormick linked up for the second time in the game, scoring on a 13-yard reception by McCormick to make it 38-10. The touchdown came after a quick 3-and-out by the Bruins, giving the Utes the ball back at the Utah 40-yard-line. The touchdown was set up by a 43-yard reception by Wilson, putting the Utes in scoring territory that led to the end of the three-play, 60-yard drive.

Gay knocked in his second field goal of the game and his fourth field goal of 50 yards or longer this season to open the fourth quarter, giving Utah a 41-10 lead with 14:02 on the clock. The 50-yarder ended a six-play, 23-yard drive, taking 3:07 off the clock.

The Bruins were able to squeak in a five-yard passing touchdown with 9:59 left in the game on a third-and-goal on the Utah five-yard-line. It was the Bruins's first touchdown since the second quarter, ending a nine-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:03 off the clock.

The Utes scored the first touchdown of the game and ended it with the last as Cody Ippolito caught a low pass for a two-yard touchdown, giving Utah a 48-17 lead with 3:27 remaining in the game. It was Ippolito's first-career touchdown, ending a nine-play, 75-yard drive that would serve as the last points of the game.

Utah stays in Salt Lake City for the second week in a row when they return to action against Washington State on Nov. 11. The game is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. in Rice-Eccles Stadium on the Pac-12 Networks.