UCLA played with fire all season long.
On Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, the Bruins finally were burned.
Utah helped close out a day of crazy college football upsets by shocking UCLA, 30-28, even though the Utes were without starting quarterback Travis Wilson most of the night.
The 6-foot-6 Wilson was reportedly benched early in the game in favor of backup Kendal Thompson, who certainly provided a spark for the Utes' offense. He finished the game 10-of-13 passing for just 95 yards and a touchdown, but it was his dual-threat nature that either extended plays or allowed him to pick up key yards on the ground.
Star receiver Dres Anderson had a relatively quiet night for the Utes, but did score an amazing 42-yard touchdown early in the second quarter after he elevated and came down with the ball between two defenders to raise the upset alert flag in Pasadena.
The Utes took a 10-point lead into halftime but eventually allowed UCLA to claw its way back into the game thanks to two long touchdown passes from Brett Hundley that gave the Bruins a one-point lead. Thompson got the ball back with three minutes remaining and, along with running back Devontae Booker, helped move the team into position for Andy Phillips' game-winning 29-yard field goal.
While the offense did just enough to leave the Rose Bowl with a surprising win, it was Utah's defense that contributed most to the team's success. The Utes sacked Hundley 10 times in the win and harassed him all night long.
Defensive end Nate Orchard, one of Utah's top NFL prospects, contributed much of the pressure in an impressive performance that no doubt caught the eye of scouts.
As for Hundley, he had 269 yards and two beautiful, long touchdown throws but also tossed an interception and struggled to get rid of the ball in the face of a tough pass rush. Running backs Paul Perkins and Jordon James had their moments in rushing for nearly 150 yards but didn't provide much support to the team.
The Bruins had strung together a series of unimpressive wins until they soundly beat Arizona State last week. Their issues seemed to catch up to them Saturday night, though, and threw even more chaos into a wild weekend of college football.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
