First look: Utah Utes

No. 8 UCLA Bruins (4-0, 1-0) vs. Utah Utes (3-1, 0-1)
Kickoff: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. PT, Rose Bowl
TV: ESPN (Mark Jones, Rod Gilmore, Jessica Mendoza)
Radio: 1150 Fox Sports LA / SIRIUS 136 (Chris Roberts, Matt Stevens, Wayne Cook)

Coach: Kyle Whittingham isn’t exactly on the hot seat, but the 54-year-old is at a bit of a crossroads in the midst of his 10th season at Utah.

Through his first six years, the Utes finished top-three in the Mountain West all but once — punctuating five straight postseason wins with a perfect 13-0 run to the Fiesta Bowl. His team finally stumbled in 2012 and lost to Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl, but still finished 23rd in the coaches’ poll.

Conference expansion knocked the program completely off course. Utah has yet to win a Pac-12 opener, and finished league play with four wins in 2011, three in 2012, and two in 2013. The Utes’ offense has finished either 11th or 12th in the Pac-12 in each of those seasons, which has pushed Whittingham into trying to juggle offensive coordinators like a bad Penn Jillette impression.

Utah’s 2014 campaign looked more promising after a road upset of Michigan, but the team followed up by blowing a 21-point lead to Washington State last weekend.

Key players:

QB Travis Wilson, Jr., 6-7, 233 — 56/96, 783 yards, 7 TD, 0 INT, 33 carries, 81 rushing yards, 1 TD
— About as tough as any quarterback you’ll find in the country, the San Clemente product looks more efficient after throwing 23 touchdowns against 22 interceptions over his first two seasons.

PR/KR Kaelin Clay, Sr., 5-10, 193 — 8 punt returns, 209 yards, 3 TD, 4 kick returns, 171 yards, 1 TD
— Clay has scored four touchdowns on just 12 kick/punt returns, an absurd ratio that has him in line to break Utah school records after transferring from Mt. SAC.

RB Devontae Booker, Jr., 5-11, 203 — 55 carries, 357 yards, 3 TD
— Booker broke out with 178 yards on 24 carries in Utah’s loss to Washington State, and accounted for his team’s lone offensive touchdown on a 76-yard run.

WR Dres Anderson, Sr., 6-2, 190 — 13 catches, 252 yards, 3 TD
— One of the Pac-12’s five 1,000-yard receivers last season, Anderson is off that pace this year as he shares targets with junior Kenneth Scott.

DE Nate Orchard, Sr., 6-4, 255 — 23 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups
— A third-year starter at defensive end who has forced five fumbles in his career, Orchard has played a bit of stand-up linebacker this season too.

Scouting report: Utah’s defense is tied for fifth in the country with 18 sacks this season. “I think they’re simple (schematically), but difficult because they play with so much certainty and with so much speed,” said UCLA head coach Jim Mora. … Utes’ rushing offense is averaging 4.34 yards per carry, good for fifth in the Pac-12 and the team’s highest mark since joining the league. … In addition to Kaelin Clay, Utah has two other anchors on special teams: All-Pac-12 first-team punter Tom Hackett (third in the country with a 47.5-yard average) and Lou Groza semifinalist Andy Phillips (7-of-9 on field goals, with a 50-yard make). … The Utes have committed 300 penalties, just one fewer than UCLA.

Line: UCLA favored by 13 points.