No. 23 Utah Rolls Over UCLA 41-10 Behind Moss' Career Night
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Zack Moss rushed for a career-high 211 yards and scored three touchdowns, helping No. 23 Utah beat UCLA 41-10 on Friday night.
Britain Covey had 132 all-purpose yards and threw a touchdown pass for the Utes (6-2, 4-2 Pac-12), who won their fourth consecutive game. Armand Shyne ran for a touchdown and Matt Gay kicked two field goals.
Joshua Kelley ran for 90 yards and a touchdown, but the Bruins (2-6, 2-3) were unable to get their third straight win. Wilton Speight was 20 of 40 for 164 yards passing.
Utah scored 28 straight points after falling behind 7-3 in the first quarter. Covey threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cole Fotheringham off a reverse to make it 10-7 midway through the second quarter, and Moss had 1-yard touchdown runs in the second and third quarter.
Shyne's 2-yard touchdown run made it 31-7 after Julian Blackmon picked off Speight, who started for the first time since sustaining a back injury in the season opener against Cincinnati.
Kelley had a 25-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-inches in the first quarter to give UCLA an early lead, but the Bruins defense could not keep Moss and Utah's rushing offense in check. Utah finished with 325 yards on the ground and averaged 6.5 yards per carry.
Utah safety Marquise Blair was ejected for targeting in the third quarter and will miss the first half at Arizona State. Blair made helmet-to-helmet contact with Speight when he was sliding at the end of an 11-yard run.
THE TAKEAWAY
Utah: The Utes avoided the letdown that has kept them from winning the Pac-12 South in previous seasons. Utah had followed home wins over Southern California in 2014 and 2016 with road losses, but there was no such slip-up this season. If Utah can maintain dominant play on both sides of the line of scrimmage for three more conference games, coach Kyle Whittingham will finally reach the Pac-12 title game for the first time on Nov. 30.
UCLA: The Bruins still have work to do. Consecutive wins might have created the impression UCLA had turned the corner in Chip Kelly's first season, but there were too many drops, penalties and missed tackles to take advantage when Utah appeared vulnerable early on.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
With a fourth straight impressive win, Utah will be in the Top 25 for the second straight week. A resume that includes narrow losses to No. 15 Washington and No. 14 Washington State might also get a closer examination from voters.
UP NEXT
Utah: At Arizona State on Saturday, Nov. 3.
UCLA: At Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 3.
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