Top five UCLA games versus Utah: Things rarely go according to script

With USC and UCLA playing their final season in the Pac-12, The Times is revisiting the top five games in the history of each series. This week: UCLA versus Utah.

Utah defensive back Justin Thomas (12) sacks UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley (17) on Oct. 4, 2014, in Pasadena.

(Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)

Revisionists might see this as the beginning of the end of the hubbub surrounding the early Jim Mora years. The Bruins were widely considered national championship contenders going into quarterback Brett Hundley’s final season. Victories over Virginia, Memphis, Texas — in the famed “Jerry’s World” game in which backup quarterback Jerry Neuheisel came off the bench to rally the Bruins — and Arizona State had vaulted UCLA to No. 8 in the national rankings. Utah was coming off a crushing, 28-27 loss to Washington State in which the Utes coughed up a 21-0 lead. But the Utes held firm against Hundley and the Bruins, sacking the quarterback 10 times while rushing for 242 yards. Utah made a short field goal with 34 seconds left to go ahead, and UCLA’s Ka’imi Fairburn missed his 50-yard attempt wide right on the final play. So much for those national title hopes.

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, middle, drops back for a pass as Utah defensive tackle Viliseni Fauonuku (98) goes in for a tackle on Nov. 21, 2015, in Salt Lake City.

(Kim Raff / Associated Press)

Josh Rosen’s first UCLA season was a dizzying series of highs and lows. Four consecutive victories to open the season were followed by a sobering 3-3 stretch that left the Bruins on the fringes of contention in the Pac-12 South. A road showdown against the Utes provided a chance to retake control. UCLA seized it in dramatic fashion, linebacker Jayon Brown pouncing on a fumble with a minute left to preserve what would go down as the Bruins’ most impressive victory of the season. They were unable to keep the momentum going, losing to USC the following week. That sent UCLA to the Foster Farms Bowl, where the Bruins got trampled by Nebraska.

UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) signals a first down against Utah on Oct. 8 in Pasadena.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

Five consecutive victories to open the season couldn’t quiet the doubters. In its three previous games, UCLA needed a botched fake field goal to beat South Alabama, rolled over historically dreadful Colorado and outlasted Washington, which was just starting to find its footing under new coach Kalen DeBoer. What did any of it mean? The Bruins were about to find out against the defending Pac-12 champion that returned its starting quarterback. UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson upstaged Utah counterpart Cam Rising in a signature performance, completing 18 of 23 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns to go with a rushing touchdown. After UCLA rose to No. 9 in the rankings, the fun would come to an abrupt end a week later during a road loss to Oregon.

Utah defensive tackle LT Tuipulotu (58) pursues UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley (17) as he carries the ball on Oct. 3, 2013, in Salt Lake City.

(Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)

The early Mora years were such a rush. At least for the first month or so. The Bruins won their first three games in Mora’s debut 2012 season and were off to another 3-0 start in 2013 when they faced Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Having entered the game ranked second in the nation in total yards (614.3) and third in scoring (52.7 points), UCLA found itself jostling with the Utes in an unexpected slugfest. Six interceptions by the Bruins and a tiebreaking, 36-yard touchdown run from quarterback Brett Hundley with 3 minutes 33 seconds left made the difference. A victory over California nine days later moved UCLA to 5-0 before back-to-back losses to Stanford and Oregon put the Bruins on a Sun Bowl trajectory.

Utah running back Joe Williams, center, runs for a touchdown as UCLA defensive lineman Takkarist McKinley, left, linebacker Jayon Brown, second from left and defensive back Jaleel Wadood, right, give chase along with Utah offensive tackle Sam Tevi on Oct. 22, 2016, in Pasadena.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

What’s going on here? A week after UCLA churned out 43 yards in 25 carries during a loss to Washington State, the Bruins abandoned their sluggish scheme under doomed offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu in favor of a spread, no-huddle attack. It worked wonders as quarterback Mike Fafaul, making his second consecutive start as an injury replacement for Rosen, set school records with 40 completions and 70 passes while throwing for a career-high 464 yards and five touchdowns with four interceptions. Curiously, what had been a stout UCLA defense folded against Utah’s relentless rushing attack. Joe Williams, who recently had come out of retirement, ran for a school-record 332 yards and four touchdowns to stomp out the Bruins’ upset hopes.