PASADENA—On Saturday, August 30 the UCLA Bruins football season began with a deflating performance against the Utah Utes, losing 43-10 at a balmy Rose Bowl on Saturday night.
UCLA Quarterback Nico Iamaleava struggled in his Bruin debut, with the quarterback wrapping the night completing 11 of 22 pass attempts for 136 passing yards and one touchdown. The Long Beach native also led UCLA’s rushing efforts with 47 yards on the ground in 13 attempts.
The Bruins (0-1) totaled 210 yards of offense against Utah (1-0), as the Utes finished the contest with 492 total yards (286 rushing, 206 passing) and scored on seven drives.
Utah, a former PAC-12 foe, simply dominated from the kickoff. All three facets; offense, defense and special teams were in favor of the Utes.
“A lot of stuff to learn from,” said UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster.
“Not the outcome that we wanted in the first game, but we just have to learn from this. It’s not going to be easy, but one positive thing I can take away from this is the way they’re sounding in the locker room right now.
Nico undoubtedly has remarkable talent, unfortunately, the offensive line was unable to offer any breathing room for Iamaleava to extend plays and create when the play breakdowns.
Player of the game honors goes to Utah QB Devon Dampier, who threw two touchdowns for 206 yards and no interceptions. It was his legs, ad-libbing speed and vision which dazzled the crowd, making Dampier an early Heisman candidate.
Dampier led the Utes (1-0) with 16 carries for 87 yards, “when the situation comes that I’ve got to run the ball, I’m going to run the ball,” Dampier said. “I’m doing what I got to do for my boys.”
The Bruins’ lone TD came on Iamaleava’s 19-yard pass to former Utah player Anthony Woods in the second quarter.
Redshirt junior Anthony Woods was the Bruin quarterback’s top target, finishing with 48 receiving yards and UCLA’s lone touchdown. The running back added 13 yards on three rushes for the evening.
In the third quarter, UCLA pulled within two scores, making a 34-yard field goal. Trailing by thirteen at 23-10.
That would be as close as the Bruins got. Utah next possession proved to be the back breaker.
Utah used a 20-play drive over 9:44 to score a touchdown and secure a 30-10 cushion late in the third quarter. The Utes scored two more touchdowns before the final horn sounded, with one score resulting from a Bruins’ turnover that gave the Utes the ball on the line of scrimmage within 30 yards of the end zone.
UP NEXT – UCLA at UNLV (Sept. 6)
The Bruins head to Las Vegas next week to face UNLV at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6. UCLA’s game against UNLV will begin at 5 p.m. in Las Vegas. The non-conference showdown will be televised on the CBS Sports Network
