Postgame Notes – UCLA at Utah
POSTGAME NOTES
Utah 14, UCLA 7
Sept. 23, 2023
• Today’s Utah game marked the seventh straight season that UCLA has opened Pac-12 play on the road: won at Colorado in 2022, 2020 and 2018, won at Stanford in 2021, won at WSU in 2019 and lost at Stanford in 2017.
• The last time UCLA had less than the total of 9 rushing yards it generated at Utah was in 2016 – at Colorado (25 yards on 30 carries) and at Arizona State (-1 yards on 23 carries).
• Today’s loss snapped a string of nine straight Bruin wins in the month of September dating back to a Sept. 25, 2021 victory against Stanford.
• With the loss at Utah, UCLA is now 7-6 record in conference openers since the start of the Pac-12 in 2011.
• This season, UCLA has given up 44 points (Utah-14, NC Central-7, SDSU-10, Coastal Carolina-13). The last time a Bruin team gave up less than 50 points through the first four games of a season was in 2001 when UCLA gave up 47 points in first four games – 20-17 Alabama, 41-17 at Kansas, 13-6 Ohio State, 38-7 at Oregon State.
•The last time UCLA held its first four opponents to 20 points or less was in 2001 – Alabama 20-17, at Kansas 41-17, Ohio State 13-6, at Oregon State 38-7. The 2001 Bruins limited the first six opponents on the schedule that season to less than 20 points.
• The Bruins held Utah (219), North Carolina Central (245), and San Diego State (259) each under 300 yards of total offense in their past three games. A Bruin team most recently held three straight teams under 300 yards of offense in 2009 – San Diego State 277, Tennessee 208, Kansas State 268.
• With the first half forced fumble by Utah, UCLA has forced at least one turnover in 18 of its past 20 games and each of its past seven contests.
• Utah held a 14-0 lead at the half of the game. It marked the first time UCLA had been blanked in the first half of action since a Nov. 26, 2016 game at Cal in which they trailed 12-0 at the intermission.
• Linebacker Kain Medrano set career highs in a number of statistics on Saturday, recording 10 tackles (previous career-high: 9) and 2.5 tackles for loss (1.0) in the game. He added 2.0 sacks (which was also a career-high total) and forced a fumble.
• Longest starting streaks on offense: C Duke Clemens has started the past 25 games; OT Garrett DiGiorgio is next at 17.
• Longest starting streaks on defense: Darius Muasau and DL Gabriel Murphy have each started the past 17 straight games.
• UCLA is 9-3 overall (7-3 Pac-12) in its past 12 true road contests – losing at Oregon in 2022 and Utah in 2021 and 2023 – dating back to a Sept. 25, 2021 win at Stanford. It has posted a 15-5 overall record in it past 20 games dating back to 2021.
• Next Up: UCLA will host Washington State on Oct. 7 in Rose Bowl Stadium. This will be the first meeting between the teams since a 67-63 win for the Bruins in Pullman in the 2019 season. WSU has not played UCLA in Pasadena since the 2015 season when the Cougars came away with a 31-27 victory.
Utah 14, UCLA 7
Sept. 23, 2023
• Today’s Utah game marked the seventh straight season that UCLA has opened Pac-12 play on the road: won at Colorado in 2022, 2020 and 2018, won at Stanford in 2021, won at WSU in 2019 and lost at Stanford in 2017.
• The last time UCLA had less than the total of 9 rushing yards it generated at Utah was in 2016 – at Colorado (25 yards on 30 carries) and at Arizona State (-1 yards on 23 carries).
• Today’s loss snapped a string of nine straight Bruin wins in the month of September dating back to a Sept. 25, 2021 victory against Stanford.
• With the loss at Utah, UCLA is now 7-6 record in conference openers since the start of the Pac-12 in 2011.
• This season, UCLA has given up 44 points (Utah-14, NC Central-7, SDSU-10, Coastal Carolina-13). The last time a Bruin team gave up less than 50 points through the first four games of a season was in 2001 when UCLA gave up 47 points in first four games – 20-17 Alabama, 41-17 at Kansas, 13-6 Ohio State, 38-7 at Oregon State.
•The last time UCLA held its first four opponents to 20 points or less was in 2001 – Alabama 20-17, at Kansas 41-17, Ohio State 13-6, at Oregon State 38-7. The 2001 Bruins limited the first six opponents on the schedule that season to less than 20 points.
• The Bruins held Utah (219), North Carolina Central (245), and San Diego State (259) each under 300 yards of total offense in their past three games. A Bruin team most recently held three straight teams under 300 yards of offense in 2009 – San Diego State 277, Tennessee 208, Kansas State 268.
• With the first half forced fumble by Utah, UCLA has forced at least one turnover in 18 of its past 20 games and each of its past seven contests.
• Utah held a 14-0 lead at the half of the game. It marked the first time UCLA had been blanked in the first half of action since a Nov. 26, 2016 game at Cal in which they trailed 12-0 at the intermission.
• Linebacker Kain Medrano set career highs in a number of statistics on Saturday, recording 10 tackles (previous career-high: 9) and 2.5 tackles for loss (1.0) in the game. He added 2.0 sacks (which was also a career-high total) and forced a fumble.
• Longest starting streaks on offense: C Duke Clemens has started the past 25 games; OT Garrett DiGiorgio is next at 17.
• Longest starting streaks on defense: Darius Muasau and DL Gabriel Murphy have each started the past 17 straight games.
• UCLA is 9-3 overall (7-3 Pac-12) in its past 12 true road contests – losing at Oregon in 2022 and Utah in 2021 and 2023 – dating back to a Sept. 25, 2021 win at Stanford. It has posted a 15-5 overall record in it past 20 games dating back to 2021.
• Next Up: UCLA will host Washington State on Oct. 7 in Rose Bowl Stadium. This will be the first meeting between the teams since a 67-63 win for the Bruins in Pullman in the 2019 season. WSU has not played UCLA in Pasadena since the 2015 season when the Cougars came away with a 31-27 victory.