Ted Miller, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Top 2014 performances: Nate Orchard

We continue our series looking at some of the top individual performances in the Pac-12 in 2014. If you feel a little nostalgic, you can check out the top performances from 2013.

Up next: Brett Hundley is the fruit of this Orchard

Who and against whom: Utah defensive end Nate Orchard turned in his "Hello, World" performance in the Utes' 30-28 upset win at No. 8 UCLA.

The numbers: Orchard tied a school record with four sacks and recorded a career-high 11 tackles in the Utes' victory.

A closer look: Orchard would go on to win the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's best defensive end and earn All-American honors and the Utes would end up nationally ranked, but neither party was much of a known quantity coming into this game, particularly after Utah lost at home to Washington State the previous weekend. Yet Orchard was the most dominating player on the field -- his 11 tackles (eight solo) also registering as a co-game-high with UCLA's inside LB Eric Kendricks. Two of his sacks came in the fourth quarter and helped the Utes hold the Bruins to three consecutive three-and-outs. His 8-yard sack on third down stopped the first drive of the quarter and his 6-yard sack on first down in the third series of the quarter was the first of three consecutive sacks for the Utes. The performance earned Orchard Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors and moved him into the national lead in sacks per game, a distinction he would retain at season's end. Said fellow defensive end Hunter Dimick after the game, "The dude is just a freak athlete."

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