Dante Moore points finger for UCLA’s loss to Utah: ‘I can put this loss on me’
Limping into the interview room, his white jersey rolled up at the chest, Dante Moore took a seat and sighed deeply before answering the first question.
That pretty much said it all.
Whipsawed from the opening play, when the UCLA quarterback threw a pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, he finally allowed himself a moment to exhale. Moore had been sacked seven times and lost a fumble under relentless Utah pressure that forced him to repeatedly peel his body off the artificial turf Saturday afternoon at a rollicking Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Knowing he would face moments like this, Moore blamed himself for not responding better, even as a freshman in one of the country’s most hostile environments.
Chip Kelly has failed to achieve a statement win at UCLA, but improvements on defense could make the Dante Moore-led Bruins a dangerous team very soon.
“I can put this loss on me for sure,” Moore said after the No. 22 Bruins’ 14-7 loss to the No. 11 Utes. “I know me being so young, not many people would say that, but I’ll put this loss on me for sure and we’ve just got to bounce back from it.”
It was a jarring transition from the heady highs of his first three college games, when Moore had rolled up seven touchdowns with only one interception against far lesser competition. Utah needed just one play to show Moore how cruel life can be in the big time.
The Utes’ interception 12 seconds into the game gave them a lead they would never give back, showing how far Moore and the Bruins (3-1 overall, 0-1 Pac-12) have to go to compete for the conference title even with a defense that is clearly the best of the Chip Kelly era.
UCLA linebacker Kain Medrano forced a fumble and made two of his team’s four sacks, helping the Bruins hold the two-time defending Pac-12 champions to 219 yards and one offensive touchdown.
“We’ve come a long way, you know?” said Medrano, a fifth-year senior who started his college career as a wide receiver.
Not far enough given UCLA’s own epic struggles to move the ball.
Moore created some late drama when he drove the Bruins 91 yards in nine plays, erasing the possibility of their first shutout loss since the infamous 50-0 setback against USC in 2011. Making one big play after another, he converted a fourth down before connecting with Josiah Norwood on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 3 minutes 39 seconds left to halve his team’s deficit.
UCLA’s defense got a quick stop, getting its offense the ball back at its own 18-yard line with 3:14 to go. Almost everything else went wrong for the Bruins.
Moore was sacked on the next two plays, backing up his team to the three-yard line. His 11-yard pass to Logan Loya momentarily allowed UCLA to escape the shadow of the goal line.
But on fourth down, the relentless Utah defense converged around him for its final sack. Kelly said his team often used its maximum protection package in an effort to shield Moore from the pressure. It didn’t work. Not even close.
Moore was hardly blameless. His miscues on a day he completed 15 of 35 passes for 234 yards included a lost fumble inside Utah’s 10-yard line, but the Bruins’ most insipid offensive effort under Kelly also included a slew of other issues.
There was questionable play calling, dropped passes and shoddy offensive line play that contributed to an inert run game. UCLA averaged just 0.3 yards per carry, largely as a result of all the sacks, while churning out nine yards on the ground.
“The total offense was an issue, so we need to get that straightened out at every level,” Kelly said after his team generated a season-low 243 yards. “I don’t think it just falls on one person. We’ve got to do a better job as a coaching staff, put those guys in a position to make plays.”
The day’s biggest play belonged to Utah, making the rest of the afternoon feel painfully long for the Bruins. Utes linebacker Karene Reid got a literal jump on Moore’s first pass, reading the route and leaping to snatch the ball in midair.
“That’s from just them watching a lot of film,” Moore said, “knowing what’s coming.”
Reid ran the interception back 21 yards for a touchdown, cupping his hands to his ear as he ran into the end zone before a sold-out crowd of 52,919 that roared in appreciation.
The Utes (4-0, 1-0) had their own issues on offense without quarterback Cam Rising, who participated in warmups for the first time this season but was unable to play.
Quarterback Nate Johnson proved slippery in the early going before the Bruins finally started bringing him down in the backfield with some regularity.
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But he did just enough. Late in the second quarter, Johnson escaped the Bruins’ pass rush by rolling out, giving him the time he needed to find tight end Landen King for a seven-yard touchdown pass that doubled Utah’s lead.
The Utes were on their way to a fourth consecutive victory over the Bruins on their home field. UCLA was left to assess all the ways it must improve, especially on offense.
“I just want to say a big shout-out to the defense,” Moore said. “They did what they have to do and the offense has to capitalize off of what they’ve done “
And with that, Moore rose from his seat behind a table to limp out of the interview room. Medrano patted him on the rear, picking up his teammate once more.
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