This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In a Tuesday afternoon conference call, UCLA coach Jim Mora said perhaps the most brazen thing any opposing coach will say about the Utes.
He plans on kicking to Kaelin Clay.
Maybe.
"We kick off to whoever," he said. "We have one of the best kickoff coverage units in the country. Now this kid [Clay] is special, I don't know if we'll be able to say [UCLA is one of the best coverage units] after we play him. We have tremendous, tremendous respect for him. But we don't want to get to far away from our core values.
The Utes paid their verbal tribute to the No. 8-ranked Bruins on Monday, and Mora was also fairly gracious of Utah on Tuesday. But as one might expect, he's also feeling a lot of confidence in his own group after they pounded Arizona State 62-27 last Thursday.
And no, Mora said, this isn't a game he's worried about his team overlooking.
"We don't look at life that way," he said. "It's a week-to-week proposition. This week we're playing a team that had a tremendous win last time they went on the road. If you talk about not overlooking guys, it can get into players' heads and be kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. For us, it's about trying to play up to our standard."
Mora said he didn't think that UCLA's defensive performance - the Bruins gave up 626 yards - was "nowhere near" the team's best, but said defensive and special teams touchdowns continue to propel his team.
Meanwhile, Mora is a little worried about facing Utah's defense this week.
"This is an outstanding defense," he said. "They actually use their linebackers well to get pressure. What they do is kind of simple, but also difficult because of their speed and decisiveness."
Kyle Goonkgoon@sltrib.comTwitter: @kylegoon