#11 Utah Football Defense Smothers #22 UCLA For 14-7 Win

Saturday, September 23

Salt Lake City, UT

1:30 PM

University of Utah

4-0 , 1-0

UCLA

3-1 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UCLA

Utah

#11 Utah Football Defense Smothers #22 UCLA For 14-7 Win

9/23/2023 6:17 PM | Football

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SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 11 University of Utah Football team improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in Pac-12 play today as the Utes' defense smothered the No. 22 UCLA Bruins for a 14-7 victory in front of the 79^th straight sellout in Rice-Eccles Stadium.

It was the 13^th time since joining the Pac-12 that the Utes have held a conference opponent to single digits. Utah held the Bruins to just 243 total yards with UCLA only converting on 3-of-16 on third downs with just 11 first downs.

The Utes kept UCLA to nine yards rushing in the game, the third time this season that Utah has kept its opponent to under 100 yards rushing. Utah also only allowed the Bruins to produce 3.4 yards per play in the game and just 0.3 yards per rush.

On offense, Utah finished the game with 219 yards, including 102 rushing and 117 passing. The Utes also recorded 13 first downs, and won the time of possession battle at 34:28 to 25:32.

GAME LEADERS
Defensive end Jonah Elliss led the Utes on defense with a career-high 10 tackles, including a career-best 3.5 sacks and 5.0 tackles for loss. His 5.0 tackles for loss ties for fourth all-time at Utah and is the most by a Ute since Devin Lloyd posted 5.0 against Stanford in 2021.

Adding to the tackle total was linebacker Karene Reid and safety Sione Vaki, who both posted nine stops each with Reid adding a pick-six and two pass breakups with Vaki also grabbing 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack.

On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Nate Johnson finished the game 9-of-17 passing for 117 yards and a touchdown, adding 14 carries for two yards. Running back Jaylon Glover led the Utes in rushes (25), rushing yards (86) and all-purpose yards (103) while wide receiver Devaughn Vele had two catches for 57 yards.

Utah's punt game also remained solid with Jack Bouwmeester finishing with eight punts for 352 yards, averaging 44.0 yards per punt, landing six inside the 20-yard line.

FIRST QUARTER BREAKDOWN
Utah's defense wasted no time in getting the Utes on the scoreboard as UCLA's quarterback dropped back for a pass on the first play of the game with Reid intercepting the ball. Reid went on to return the ball 21 yards to the end zone for his second-career touchdown and first-career pick-six to give Utah a 7-0 lead with 14:48 on the clock.

Utah kept the Bruins out of the end zone in the first quarter, holding UCLA to just 30 total yards that included nine rushing and 21 through the air. The Utes produced 77 yards on offense which included a 22-yard catch by Vele and a 16-yard gain from Ja'Quinden Jackson, but unfortunately no drives ended with offensive touchdowns.

SECOND QUARTER BREAKDOWN
The Utes and the Bruins traded possessions to start the second quarter with neither team finding much rhythm on offense with Utah taking over once again on their own 49-yard line with 5:00 to go in the half. The Utes marched down field with Johnson connecting on first down passes to Glover and Mikey Matthews, finding their way to the UCLA seven-yard line where Johnson found Landen King open in the end zone for the 14-0 lead.

Utah held UCLA to just 19 yards in the second quarter, including negative rushing yardage and just 21 yards through the air. The Utes also kept the Bruins to 10 plays total in the quarter, compared to Utah's 23 with 76 yards on total offense.

THIRD QUARTER BREAKDOWN
It was another scoreless quarter for both teams as the Utes were held to 57 yards while UCLA came up with 89, combining for seven total first downs. Through three quarters, Utah also kept UCLA to just 3-of-12 on third down conversions.

FOURTH QUARTER BREAKDOWN
After the defensive battle continued into the final 10:00 of the game, UCLA took over on its own nine-yard line. The Bruins turned it into a 91-yard scoring drive, finding the end zone on a 17-yard catch to cut the Utah lead to 14-7 with just 3:39 to go in the game.

With 3:14 on the clock, Utah was forced to punt, allowing UCLA one more chance to tie the game with the Bruins holding the ball on their own 18-yard line. The Utes would go on to sack UCLA's quarterback three times on the final drive with Elliss, Logan Fano and Vaki all getting in on the action, sealing the Utah win with Vaki's sack on fourth-and-14.

UP NEXT
The Utes will hit the road to take on the Oregon State Beavers on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. The game will air on FS1.