Familiar problems haunt UCLA during loss at Washington as bowl path gets tougher
The version of UCLA that rolled into this chilly, wind-swept stadium had a throwback feel.
It resembled the team that struggled so mightily early this season.
Quarterback Ethan Garbers constantly was running from relentless pressure. The Bruins couldn’t run the ball. They forced turnovers but couldn’t do much with them. They hurt themselves with penalties. And their defense gave up too many big plays.
It added up to the end of their three-game winning streak, the Bruins falling flat for the first time in more than a month during a 31-19 loss to Washington on Friday night at Husky Stadium.
“I’m not going to make any excuses for us,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said. “We just weren’t at our best and it hurts when you know you can come out and play a little bit better than you did, you know?”
Toward the end of a frustrating night for Garbers, who was scrambling on nearly every play behind an offensive line down to its fourth-string left tackle after Jaylan Jeffers had to be carted off the field, the quarterback was flung down for a 12-yard loss on a fourth-down sack with 3½ minutes to go.
UCLA (4-6 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) will need to win its final two games — against USC and Fresno State — to qualify for a bowl game.
Meanwhile, the Huskies (6-5, 4-4) assured themselves of a bowl berth while stretching their home win streak to 20 games.
Read more: Mateen Bhaghani kicking his way into UCLA's football record book
Washington got a boost from quarterback Demond Williams Jr. after the freshman replaced erratic starter Will Rogers III and guided the Huskies on three scoring drives, including one that ended in a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Decker DeGraaf that extended their lead to 24-13 with 5:44 left, essentially sealing the victory.
“He opened their offense a little just in terms of being able to run the ball,” UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who made a career-high 17 tackles, said of the shifty Williams, “but for us as a defense, that’s something we knew coming into the game and we planned for it. We just weren’t executing how we wanted to when he came in the game.”
UCLA had intercepted two passes from Rogers in the third quarter — leading to his benching — but turned the takeaways into only three points.
Cornerback Devin Kirkwood’s juggling interception on the Huskies’ first drive of the quarter gave the Bruins the ball at Washington’s 25-yard line. But UCLA could not pick up a first down and had to settle for Mateen Bhaghani’s 40-yard field goal that trimmed the deficit to 14-13.
Washington’s next drive ended in similar fashion when UCLA linebacker Kain Medrano stepped in front of a Rogers pass and returned it 11 yards to the Huskies’ 39. But Bruins tight end Jack Pedersen lost a fumble, and Washington recovered the ball at its own 20-yard line.
“The defense did a good job of getting some turnovers for us in the red zone,” Foster said, “and we just didn’t come up with touchdowns like we wanted.”
A week after its run game produced 211 yards in a victory over Iowa, the Bruins were held to 52 yards in 33 carries for an average of 1.6 yards per carry. Garbers was sacked six times and completed 27 of 44 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns.
“We’ve just got to do a better job of communicating before the snap and getting the protection dialed in,” Garbers said. “I’ve got to do a better job, also, of getting rid of the football faster and having that mental clock in my head and finding guys that are open.”
Read more: From zero stars to leading Big Ten in tackles: The rise of UCLA's Carson Schwesinger
UCLA could only blame itself for its 14-10 halftime deficit after a blunder contributed heavily to each of Washington’s touchdowns.
The first came when Brody Richter shanked a punt for 16 yards late in the first quarter, enabling the Huskies to take over at UCLA’s 36-yard line. Three plays later, Washington running back Jonah Coleman (95 yards and two touchdowns in 21 carries) took a pitch and ran for a 15-yard touchdown and the game’s first score.
There was another huge mistake to come.
It looked like the Bruins had made a stop deep in their own territory late in the second quarter when safety Bryan Addison intercepted a Rogers pass in the end zone. But UCLA linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo hit Rogers from behind on the play, leading to a roughing-the-passer call that gave Washington a first down.
Rogers eventually connected with Keleki Latu on an eight-yard touchdown pass to extend the Huskies’ lead to 14-3.
But Garbers provided a much-needed answer just before halftime. Having spent much of the half in scramble mode — losing a fumble deep in Washington territory in the second quarter after edge rusher Russell Davis II stripped the ball out of his hand — Garbers was more elusive in running for two first downs, including one that put the ball at Washington’s one-yard line.
On the next play, Garbers zipped a touchdown pass to wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer on a crossing route and UCLA was within 14-10 with 51 seconds left in the first half. There weren’t many more highlights to come.
By the time Garbers completed his final pass for a two-yard touchdown to tight end Moliki Matavao with nine seconds left in the game, any comeback hopes had been erased.
“We’ve got to be better and that starts with me getting these guys going, getting them in and out of the huddle,” Garbers said. “Just focusing on how every play is the most important. It just comes down to me making those throws and moving those chains.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
