Minnesota snatch win from the Bruins

PASADENA, Calif. – Missed opportunities can best describe how things went for the UCLA Bruins in their Big Ten Conference football game against the Minnesota Gophers. 

The Bruins went up against the Gophers with a 10-0 lead at halftime, playing dominant football on both sides of the ball for the first two quarters. 

The Bruins could easily have built on their advantage before intermission, but a costly turnover in the red zone and other mishaps possibly derailed that from happening. UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster said the Bruins left some scoring chances on the table in the first half. 

“Oh yeah, most definitely,” Foster admitted. “There were a couple of opportunities. But we were able to get out of the half with 10 points and we had the ball coming out. That is what I was really excited about, to try and get some points coming out of half. And that didn’t happen and from that point on, we kind of snowballed a little bit.”

The Bruins looked good at the start scoring a touchdown on their first drive of the game. UCLA drove down the field again on its second possession. However, an interception of an Ethan Garbers pass deep in Minnesota territory stalled that drive and momentum for the Bruins. 

Garbers finished the game with 293 yards and three interceptions. He also threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to J. Michael Sturdivant. But that first pick seemed to have eliminated the Bruins’ offensive swag in the first half as Garbers echoed Foster’s sentiments on the team’s missed opportunities. 

“100 percent,” Garbers said. “Like I said, it was a tipped ball. I threw an interception when we were getting into the red zone, that hurt definitely. We just didn’t execute and didn’t find ourselves in the right spots.”

The first-half woes against Minnesota reflect how the season is going for Foster and the Bruins. Minnesota rallied from that 10-point deficit to regain the lead in the third quarter. 

Garbers’ scoring pass to Sturdivant gave the Bruins their final lead of the game. Minnesota wound up getting a four-yard touchdown pass from Max Brosmer to Darius Taylor with 27 seconds to win the ballgame, 21-17. 

“The running backs are a big part of our offense, obviously. When we got down there, we were able to get them out,” Brosmer said. “It became the perfect progression where they covered everything up and he was the last outlet. He [Taylor] got to a good spot. The protection was absolutely elite. It was simple execution and making the plays less difficult.”

The Gophers outscored the Bruins 21-7 in the second half to pull the road win at the Rose Bowl Stadium. Afterward, Foster offered this assessment on the Bruins’ latest defeat. 

“It was a tale of two halves,” Foster remarked. “We came out in the first half and played well, outscored them 10-0, and pretty much didn’t really execute or, the attention to detail wasn’t there. The discipline that we need to play in the second half wasn’t there at all.” 

“We are a one-half team right now,” he added. “I have to find a way to get these guys to come out and approach the second half like we do [with] the first half of games. Until we do that, we aren’t going to be able to get out of our own way, and we are going to continue to take losses like this.”     

This is a tough period for Foster and the Bruins. After opening the season with a victory against Hawai’i, UCLA has lost its last five games. As he spoke to reporters after the game, Foster was measured in speaking about the defeat.  

“This one is going to sting. I’m going to be pissed off for a little bit. It’s hard to sit up here and try to be positive, but we need to truly hone in on our pillars so that we can get out of our own way and be successful,” Foster said.

Top Photo Caption:

UCLA wide receiver J. Michael Sturvidant hauls in a 42-yard touchdown from Ethan Garbers against the Minnesota Gophers on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Carlos Jones/News4usonline