SALT LAKE CITY _ Josh Rosen didn't make the trip here, sidelined by a concussion.
It was the other no-show that doomed UCLA.
The Bruins' defense somehow sunk to a new low Friday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium, giving backup quarterback Devon Modster no chance during a 48-17 loss to Utah.
The Utes entered the game with seemingly even more problems than UCLA but felt considerably better about themselves after gouging the Bruins' worst-in-the-nation run defense and their secondary with equal ease. UCLA gave up 401 yards of offense ... with 22:13 left in the game.
The Bruins failed to cover receivers or running backs or exert much pressure on Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley while yielding 506 yards of total offense, including 272 rushing yards. The Utes gained an average of 7.0 yards per play.
Injury was added to insult early in the fourth quarter when UCLA receiver Darren Andrews hurt his right knee after planting his leg awkwardly and crumpling to the turf. He had to be lifted to the sideline without putting any weight on either leg.
Andrews' departure left the Bruins without their top three pass catchers, because tight end Caleb Wilson is out for the season with a foot injury and receiver Jordan Lasley has been suspended indefinitely over a disciplinary issue.
Things only deteriorated further for UCLA when cornerback Darnay Holmes was called for targeting, resulting in his ejection. Holmes must also sit out the first half of the Bruins' game against Arizona State next week after his second targeting ejection of the season.
UCLA (4-5 overall, 2-4 Pac-12 Conference) will need to win two of its last three games_against Arizona State, USC and California _ to become eligible for a bowl. Two of the three games are at the Rose Bowl, where the Bruins are 4-0 this season.
It's not known whether Rosen can come to the rescue. The Pac-12's leading passer stayed behind in Los Angeles because of a concussion he sustained last week against Washington.
Modster played reasonably well in his first college start, though the redshirt freshman cooled off considerably after completing all seven of his passes for 101 yards in the first half. He hurt his thumb after hitting it on a helmet and finished the game completing eight of 12 for 103 yards and one touchdown before giving way to third-string quarterback Matt Lynch in the e fourth quarter.
It was a defeat that could in no way be pinned on Rosen's backups or a run game that generated only 134 yards considering the way UCLA's defense played.
There was an abysmal breakdown on the first play of the third quarter when two defense backs collided and Utah's Troy McCormick Jr. ran uncovered out of the backfield and caught a pass for a 75-yard touchdown on a wheel route.
That might not have been the Bruins' most embarrassing moment. Defensive end Jaelan Phillips flexed a biceps on Utah's next drive after a play in which the Utes ran for a first down.
Tailback Zach Moss ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns for the Utes (5-4, 2-4), who had lost their previous four games. Huntley ran for 93 yards and completed 15 of 22 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns.
The Bruins continue to go wildly astray away from the Rose Bowl, having lost nine consecutive games on the road. Their last road victory came about a 90-minute drive away from here against Brigham Young in Provo in September 2016.
Modster's touchdown pass came on a 24-yard completion to Andrews late in the second quarter. The highlight of the drive had come on the preceding play, when UCLA receiver Theo Howard extended his right arm to snag a pass with one hand before pulling it back into his body for a 26-yard completion.
UCLA committed to its running game early, running the ball on 11 of 14 offensive plays in the first quarter while generating only three first downs. The Bruins tried some trickery, including a double reverse in which Demetric Felton gained 20 yards. Modster threw what looked like an effortless 42-yard pass to Andrews on the next play, giving UCLA some momentum.
But a double pass in which Modster threw a lateral to receiver Dymond Lee, a converted quarterback, generated only one yard. and J.J. Molson kicked a 37-yard field goal that trimmed UCLA's deficit to 7-3.
UCLA's run defense was actually stout in the first quarter, holding the Utes to 15 rushing yards. But a special teams mistake hurt when the Bruins' Mossi Johnson bobbled a punt before catching it and then fumbling the ball when he took a hit. Utah recovered at UCLA's 16-yard line and scored four plays later on Moss' three-yard run.
The Utes' running game got some traction in the second quarter, gaining 90 yards and 6.4 yards per carry, but it was Huntley's nice touch on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Darren Carrington II in the front corner of the end zone that extended the lead to 14-3.
