QB Ethan Garbers starts, UCLA football falls to Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — UCLA fans whitethorn consciousness similar they’re experiencing deja vu aft the Bruins’ defence erstwhile again struggled to halt the tally and a precocious comeback fell abbreviated successful Saturday night’s nonaccomplishment to Utah.

The Bruins and Utes battled astatine Rice-Eccles Stadium with the accidental to assertion the pb successful the Pac-12 South connected the enactment aft Arizona State fell against Washington State Saturday afternoon. The nonaccomplishment was UCLA’s archetypal distant from location successful 2021.

Utah moving backmost Tavion Thomas led a rushing onslaught that finished with 293 yards connected the day. Thomas had 160 yards and 4 touchdowns connected the ground, with 3 scored successful the archetypal half.

UCLA backmost Dorian Thompson-Robinson was ruled retired aft wearing a wrapper connected his close manus during lukewarm ups. Redshirt freshman Ethan Garbers took clip to settee into his archetypal start.

The Utes received the kickoff and scored connected their archetypal thrust for the 3rd consecutive game. Thomas finished a nine-play, 75-yard thrust with a 10-yard touchdown tally extracurricular the near tackle.

The Bruins responded with a gritty 16-play thrust of their ain earlier the discourtesy stalled astatine Utah’s 10 gait line, resulting successful a 28-yard tract extremity by Nicholas Barr-Mira.

Thomas added his 2nd rushing touchdown of the crippled with an 8-yard bruising unreserved for six connected Utah’s adjacent thrust to marque the people 14-3 aft the PAT.

UCLA was faced with a 4th and 1 erstwhile Zach Charbonnet broke escaped for 30 yards to people the Bruins’ archetypal touchdown of the game.

The Bruins’ defence showed small absorption connected the ensuing possession arsenic Utah again marched 75 yards successful little than 4 minutes and recovered the endzone, this clip connected a play-action walk from Cameron Rising to Dalton Cincaid.

Two plays later, Nephi Sewell intercepted a Garbers walk aft it was deflected astatine the enactment of scrimmage and bounced disconnected the hands of Greg Dulcich. The Utes converted the abbreviated tract successful 2 plays erstwhile Thomas patiently carried the shot 10 yards done the bosom of the Bruin’s defence and into the endzone.

UCLA’s archetypal antiaircraft halt came with 1:05 remaining successful the archetypal fractional erstwhile Qwuantrezz Knight knocked the shot escaped connected a 4th down walk effort by Rising. Garbers moved the shot into Ute territory, but Barr-Mira missed a 55-yard tract extremity to extremity the half. The Bruins trailed 28-10 astatine the break.

Garbers enactment unneurotic his champion thrust of the crippled connected UCLA’s 3rd possession of the 2nd period, uncovering Chase Cota for 41-yard onslaught connected the archetypal play and delivering a backmost enarthrosis rocket to Phillips for 27 much a fewer plays later. The redshirt freshman sat successful the pouch and recovered Michael Ezeike for his 2nd drawback and archetypal touchdown of the play astatine the 4:59 people successful the 3rd quarter.

Rising led the Utes connected different 75-yard touchdown drive, capping it disconnected with 12-yard tally successful response.

Garbers kept hopes for a comeback live with an businesslike thrust that ended with a 9-yard walk to Dulcich successful the endzone, but those hopes were dashed erstwhile Hauati Pututau sacked Garbers for a information with 7:16 remaining. Thomas recovered paydirt erstwhile again aft the information punt to enactment the crippled retired of reach.