When UCLA redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Garbers took the first snap Saturday against host Stanford, the microscopic analysis of every pass he threw started for a Bruins offense that was looking to flip the script on the slow starts that were a growing issue over their first three Pac-12 games.

That’s because Garbers, of course, was not freshman Dante Moore.

The former five-star recruit had opening-drive interceptions in losses at Utah and Oregon State and in a home win over Washington State sandwiched in between. In all, Moore had a conference-worst six interceptions to just three touchdown passes over the three games.

This, however, was supposed to be Moore’s chance to get back on track and perform like the potential star who mostly dazzled in the first three nonconference wins of the season. Stanford came into the contest with the nation’s second-worst pass defense (321.5 yards per game) among the 130 FBS teams.

Instead, Bruins head coach Chip Kelly told reporters after the 42-7 win over the Cardinal, an undisclosed injury limited Moore in practices all week and Garbers handled most of the first-team reps. The decision to start Garbers, who did not play in the previous two contests and hadn’t started since the season-opening win over Coastal Carolina, was made “at the end of the week.”

“You get to the end of the week like we always do, where are we, what’s our depth, who can contribute and so Ethan earned the start this week from a practice standpoint in terms of where we are,” Kelly said in a transcript provided by the Los Angeles Times.

Garbers never made it a debate and any second-guessing eroded with each third-down conversion. He finished 20 of 28 for 240 yards and two touchdowns, but most importantly without turning the ball over in a relatively clean performance.