Utah’s Tavion Thomas was a bright spot on a rough day against UCLA
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Utah running back Tavion Thomas (9) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA football game against UCLA in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. Ashley Landis, AP Photo
PASADENA, Calif. — Utah running back Tavion Thomas enjoyed his best performance of the season so far Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl.
His 91 rushing yards and a touchdown certainly weren’t enough in a 42-32 loss to No. 18 UCLA, but he was a bright spot for the Ute offense.
Thomas has been through the death of a family member this season and endured a first-half suspension against Arizona State.
Against the Bruins, Thomas looked more like the back that rushed for more than 1,000 yards last year for the No. 11 Utes.
And Utah will need more of the same from him the rest of the season.
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Utah Utes wide receiver Devaughn Vele (17) gets knocked down by UCLA Bruins defensive back Jaylin Davies (24) as Utah Utes head football coach Kyle Whittingham watches at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising hands the ball to running back Tavion Thomas during the game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes wide receiver Devaughn Vele (17) runs past UCLA Bruins linebacker Darius Muasau (53) and defensive back William Nimmo Jr. (32) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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UCLA Bruins running back Keegan Jones (22) runs past Utah Utes safety R.J. Hubert (11) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes running back Tavion Thomas (9) warms up before the game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) warms up before the game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) speaks with a UCLA team employee before the game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utes quarterback Cameron Rising warms up before the game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utes quarterback Bryson Barnes (16) and offensive lineman Johnny Maea (53) get ready for the game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes wide receiver Devaughn Vele (17) warms up before the game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes safety R.J. Hubert (11) sacks UCLA Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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UCLA Bruins linebacker Darius Muasau (53) intercepts a pass intended for Utah Utes tight end Thomas Yassmin (87) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) runs past UCLA Bruins linebacker Laiatu Latu (15) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) gets tackled by UCLA Bruins defensive back William Nimmo Jr. (32) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes cornerback JaTravis Broughton (4) scowls as UCLA celebrates a touchdown by Bruins wide receiver Jake Bobo (9) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) gets up after getting sacked in the game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) runs into the endzone to score against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) runs into the endzone to score against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah Utes running back Micah Bernard (2) runs past UCLA Bruins defensive back Kenny Churchwell III (23) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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UCLA Bruins running back Zach Charbonnet (24) and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) celebrate after scoring against Utah at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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UCLA coach Chip Kelly and Utah coach Kyle Whittingham shake hands after Utah’s loss at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
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Utah coach Kyle Whittingham walks away after shaking hands with UCLA coach Chip Kelly after Utah’s loss at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
“Tavion played his best game of the year. We were leaning on him quite heavily for a while until we got to the point where we needed to start throwing more,” said coach Kyle Whittingham.
“But I’m proud of how he played. He caught the ball well out of the backfield. … He’s hopefully going to stay in a positive direction and be a force for us. It was about this time last year where he really started to get some traction and started to become a major player for us.”
Whittingham said he was also pleased with quarterback Cam Rising’s play, though Rising had one fumble and one interception to go along with his 287 passing yards and 59 rushing yards.
Rising was also sacked twice.
“We were OK. I don’t think we were at our best,” Whittingham said of the pass protection against UCLA. “We weren’t as good as we were last week pass-blocking. We gave up a couple of sacks today.
“Cam is such an athletic guy, and has such a great pocket presence and can feel the rush and has a great gift for escapability. He makes the protection statistically look better than it is sometimes because of his ability to maneuver out of the pocket.”
“We came up short, that’s all I know,” he said. “It just wasn’t enough. There’s a lot of stuff that I have to clean up to make sure we’re rolling from the (start). Just to be better.”
Tight end Thomas Yassmin took a hard hit in the first half that resulted in a targeting call on the Bruins and didn’t return to the game.
Whittingham said he wasn’t sure about the extent of Yassmin’s injury.
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