UCLA
3-1 , 0-1
Utah
4-0 , 1-0
UCLA Football Edged at Utah, 14-7
September 23, 2023 | Football
SALT LAKE CITY โ The UCLA football team dropped a 14-7 decision at Utah in the Bruins' first Pac-12 contest of the season on Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 52,919 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
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Trailing 14-0 with less than four minutes to play in the final quarter, the Bruins (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) put together a nine-play and 91-yard scoring drive to cut Utah's advantage to 14-7.
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Bruins' quarterback Dante Moore kept UCLA's drive alive with a 45-yard completion on fourth down from UCLA's 22-yard line. Three plays later, Moore connected with wide receiver Josiah Norwood on a 17-yard touchdown strike with 3:39 to play.
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The Bruins' offense finished with 243 total yards in Saturday's contest. Utah was limited to 219 total yards, including 117 yards through the air and 102 on the ground.
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Moore threw for 234 yards on Saturday afternoon at Utah, connecting on 15 of 35 pass attempts in his fourth collegiate contest.
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Utah (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) scored one touchdown on defense in the game's first minute and added its second touchdown in the final minutes of the second quarter. The Utes extended their home winning streak to 17 games.
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Utah took a 7-0 lead on the first offensive play of the game, as linebacker Karene Reid returned an interception 21 yards and into the end zone for the Utes with 14:48 to play in the opening quarter.
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The host Utes doubled their advantage late in the second quarter, moving ahead 14-0. Utah capped a nine-play and 51-yard offensive drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Nate Johnson to tight end Landen King with 61 seconds to play in the second period.
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Utah led UCLA by a 14-0 margin at halftime, and neither team scored in the third quarter.
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Johnson completed nine of 17 pass attempts, totaling 117 passing yards and zero interceptions.
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UCLA held Utah to just 14 points on Saturday and has limited the opposition to 14 points or fewer in each of the team's first four games this season. That marks the first time since the 2001 season in which UCLA has held the opposition to 14 points or fewer in the season's first four games.
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The Bruins will return to action against Washington State at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 7. The game time has not been determined.
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Team Stats
Bru 0, Ute 7
Ute - Reid,Karene 21 yd interception (Cheek,Joey kick)
Bru 0, Ute 14
Ute - King,Landen 7 yd pass from Johnson,Nate (Cheek,Joey kick) 9 plays, 51 yards, TOP 03:59
Bru 7, Ute 14
Bru - Norwood,Josiah 17 yd pass from Moore,Dante (Lopez,R.J. kick) 9 plays, 91 yards, TOP 04:29
