10 things to know about Utah vs. UCLA

SALT LAKE CITY — So close, yet oh so far away.

Utah fell to 3-1 on the season with a heartbreaking 28-27 home loss to Washington State last Saturday. It was a game where the Utes held a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, only to watch the Cougars slowly chip away at the deficit to steal one away at Rice-Eccles.

The Utes never got into a rhythym on the offensive side of the ball, not once making an appearance in the red zone. The offense only accounted for one touchdown, a 76 yard run by Devontae Booker.

"When you score one offensive touchdown you don't have much of a chance to win," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham stated following the loss. "That was really the issue. We have to be more productive, particularly throwing the ball."

With the loss Utah is now 0-4 in conference openers since joining the Pac-12, and unfortunately the road doesn't get any easier from here.

Next up for the Utes is the first of two road contests, the former being a trip to the Rose Bowl to take on the top 10 UCLA Bruins this Saturday.

Utah (3-1) at UCLA (4-0)

• Utah (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) at No. 8 UCLA (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12)
• Date: Saturday, Oct. 4
• Time: 7:30 pm PT (8:30 MT)
• Site: Los Angeles, CA
  • Rose Bowl (91,136/Grass)
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: ESPN700 AM and Sirius 136/XM 203
• Series Record: UCLA leads 10-2
• Last Meeting: 2013 (UCLA 34-27)

Series Snapshot
The Utes trail the overall series 10-2 and are looking for their first win in Los Angeles, where they are 0-6. Utah's wins were in 2007 and 2011 in Salt Lake City, where UCLA holds a 4-2 edge. UCLA won the first eight games of the series before the Utes upset the 11th-ranked Bruins, 44-6, in 2007.

Here are 10 things to know about this week's matchup:

• Utah (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) plays No. 8 UCLA (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) in the Rose Bowl on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. MT). The game will be televised on ESPN.
• Utah's Kaelin Clay is the only player in the country this season with three punt returns for touchdowns and four total returns (1 kickoff) for a touchdown. He ranks third in the nation in punt return average (26.1).
• Utah has played a ranked UCLA team five times previously and is 1-4 in those games. The Utes upset No. 11 UCLA in 2007 by a 44-6 margin. Last year, No. 12 UCLA edged Utah 34-27. Overall, the Utes trail the series with UCLA 10-2 and are 0-6 in Los Angeles. Adding in USC, the Utes are only 1-12 vs. the LA schools on the road, with the lone win coming against USC in 1916.
• Last week, UCLA had 582 total yards and scored the most points by an opponent in the 55-year history of Sun Devil Stadium in a 62-27 win over Arizona State.
• Utah is tied for second in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in both sacks per game (4.5) and tackles for loss per game (9.5).
• The Bruins have started off each of the past three seasons with early win streaks - 2012 won first 3, 2013 won first 5 games. The current six-game win streak (over the past two seasons) is the longest under Coach Mora. The last time the Bruins won more than five straight games was in the 8-0 start to the 2005 season.
• UCLA is 19-3 under current head coach Jim Mora when scoring first and 20-0 when ahead at the half.
• Utah's last road win over a team ranked in the AP Top 25 was in 1999 - 20-17 over No. 19 BYU. Next game before that was a win against No. 12 Colorado State 45-31 in 1994.
• Utah is 10-10 all-time in ESPN televised games.
• There are 35 California natives on Utah's roster and 31 are from Southern California. Ten members of Utah's starting lineup are Californians (all from So Cal): OL Siaosi Aiono (West Covina/South Hills HS); WR Dres Anderson (Riverside/JW North HS); DB Brian Blechen (Moorpark/Moorpark HS); DB Tevin Carter (Los Angeles/L.A. Southwest College); WR Kaelin Clay (Long Beach/Mt. San Antonio College); SN Chase Dominguez (Orange/Lutheran HS); DB Dominique Hatfield (Los Angeles/Crenshaw HS); LB Jared Norris (Bakersfield/Centennial HS); WR Kenneth Scott (Fontana/Colony HS); QB Travis Wilson (San Clemente/San Clemente HS).

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