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Pete Fiutak

UCLA vs Utah Prediction, Game Preview

UCLA vs Utah prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 6, Saturday, October 8


UCLA vs Utah How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 8
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
How To Watch: FOX
Record: UCLA (5-0), Utah (4-1)
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College Football Week 5 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 5 Scoreboard
Week 6 Early Lines | Hot Seat Coach Rankings
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Cavalcade of Whimsy: The Silly Coaching World
Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

UCLA vs Utah Game Preview

Why Utah Will Win

Here comes the power.

Washington brought a strong defense to Los Angeles, and it didn’t do enough against the UCLA attack allowing close to 500 yards in the 40-32 Bruin win.

Utah is different.

The Utes bring far more toughness and production than anything the Bruins have seen so far. It’s leading the Pac-12 in total defense, it’s second in the nation against the pass, and gives up just 111 rushing yards per game.

Combine all of that with the toughness of the offensive line and the consistency of QB Cameron Rising – one bad throw against Florida aside – and this style travels.

Takeaways have been a huge part of UCLA’s 5-0 start – coming up with 11 so far including two against Washington – but Utah has only given it up four times and hasn’t suffered multiple turnovers in any one game.

Ground, pound, repeat – Utah can do that, but …

NFL Expert Picks, Week 5

Why UCLA Will Win

This is a tougher UCLA team that it gets credit for.

It starts with the brilliant job done by an offensive line that leads the nation in fewest tackles for loss per game allowed, Zach Charbonnet and the ground attack can power away – it’s running better than Utah is.

Utah might be tremendous defensively, but Anthony Richardson and the Florida ground game rolled on the ground – the Gators ran for 283 yards – and San Diego State and Oregon State were able to run well, too. UCLA will be balanced and fast, but it’ll get nasty when it has to.

On the other side, the defense has done its part. South Alabama is the only team to hit the 100-yard rushing mark against the Bruins, there are plenty of plays in the backfield, and …

– Schedules, Previews CollegeNFL

What’s Going To Happen

Utah doesn’t win away from Salt Lake City against good teams.

Assuming Florida will finish strong, Utah has gone 2-8 in its last ten games away from home against teams that finished with a winning record. They team’s style works anywhere, but it seems to have a problem in close games when it’s not in familiar surroundings.

Do you trust UCLA to come up with a brilliant game against a good team two weeks in a row? This is a veteran squad with great lines and a coach who has things in place …

And Utah is playing better overall. The Utes will keep the score low and come up with the big plays in the backfield late to get out with a huge win.

CFN Expert Picks, Week 6

UCLA vs Utah Prediction, Line

Utah 31, UCLA 26
Line: Utah -4, o/u: 64.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
UCLA vs Utah Must See Rating (out of 5): 4.5
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