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Pasadena, Calif. • Gionni Paul could barely walk after belting out the final few verses of the Utah fight song in the crimson corner of the Rose Bowl. The Utah linebacker began his long walk toward the locker room, but stopped. He looked up at the lights beaming down on his team and fashioned a response to a question those around college football will ask after the Utes shocked No. 8-ranked UCLA 30-28 Saturday night.
"We're the type of defense that says, 'Man put it on us,'" said Paul, in his first year at Utah.
Is that what made Utah's defensive clinic against the Bruins and Heisman Trophy candidate Brett Hundley that much more impressive? Whatever it was, the Utes simply terrorized the UCLA offensive line in the upset. Utah had 10 sacks Saturday night. The last time a Utes defense got to a quarterback that many times? 1983 in a game against UTEP.
UCLA was forced to transition to a predominately run-based offensive attack due to consistent pressure, because it simply had no other choice. The Bruins' inability to protect Hundley was a continual issue, one Utah had no problem with. The quarterback some analysts envision being a potential top draft pick in next year's NFL Draft often had nowhere to go as wave after wave of pressure engulfed him.
"That was the game-plan going in," said defensive end Hunter Dimick, who finished with 2.5 sacks. "We had to take care of him first and foremost."
Senior Nate Orchard had four sacks and a game-high 11 tackles. His four sacks tied the Utah record for sacks in a single game with cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah and NFL defensive end Paul Kruger. Jared Norris had 10 tackles and a sack. Sese Ianu had a sack. Cornerback Justin Thomas had one himself, while safety Andre Godfrey — playing for the injured Tevin Carter — had a half-sack, too.
"That means at Utah, we doing something right, man," Paul said. "We're showing people that we're relentless."
Coach Kyle Whittingham said he and his coaching staff concluded it best that rather than drop off into coverage and give Hundley time to sit back and have a heyday, the proper course of action was simple: "Let's get after the quarterback."
So Utah brought a four-man rush the entire night. There were instances in which defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake dialed up five, six or seven in blitz packages. Hundley made his big plays — no one expected to bottle up the star the entire night. He his wideout Devin Fuller on a 93-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter and later found Eldridge Massington for a 40-yard touchdown reception to give UCLA its first lead, 28-27, with less than five minutes remaining.
Whittingham has seen plenty of talented defensive lines during his tenure with Utah. What makes this one stand out, he explained, is the combination of depth and talent. Beyond Orchard and Dimick off the edge, Lowell Lotuleilei, Sese Ianu and Seni Fauonuku provided interior pressure throughout the night.
The recipe to defeating a Top 10 opponent on the road? Sticking with your guns. Utah did that throughout, standing toe-to-toe with the Bruins in Pasadena and keeping Hundley on his back.
"Coming here to the Rose Bowl and getting a huge win like that?" Orchard said. "Nothing beats that."
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