It was an obvious tuff 1H becuz games are won in the trenches and Utah not surprisingly dominated both trenches.
That said, as a partial offset, Nico has the clay to be a difference maker as he showed an added dimension in being able to effectively run the ball behind a meh UCLA OL, inclusive of showing skill at breaking tackles.
I was most concerned in this game about the comparative D's. UCLA has a basically brand new 2-deep on D, as JonJon Vaughns is almost the only defendeer I thoroughly am familiar with. By contrast, UTAH has a slew of rotation returnees who are known quantities for their tuffness. The above bore out in the 1H, with UT dominant at 256 total yards to only 134 for the home team.
UT's D line did dominate UCLA's O-line but I felt the pass protection was better than my low expectations as per my earlier comment about Nico being able to be a factor in leading UCLA with 33 rushing yards. Passing yds were close such that the principal diversion was on the ground with UT rushing for 164 yds to a paltry 57 for UCLA. That deviation could likely be the determining factor in UT winning this game.
UCLA gets the 2H kickoff and needs to make an immediate impact to get back in the game. No doubt unlikely, given UT winning both lines of scrimmage. UT has a solid team and I expect that will show off over the course of the season.
GO BRUINS!