PASADENA, Calif. — UCLA redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Garbers started his Saturday night by participating in Senior Night festivities in the regular-season and Pac-12 Conference football finale at the Rose Bowl.

All the fuzzy feelings ended before the first drive of the game was completed and after Garbers threw just nine passes. The rest of the half then played out like UCLA was in the midst of its own version of "A Christmas Carol" — except there would be no happy ending en route to a 33-7 loss to California.

Garbers got off to a quick start and drove the Bruins to the red zone , but he was knocked out of the game while being hit on an incomplete pass.

UCLA freshman Dante Moore, who was plagued at the start of Pac-12 play by opening-drive interceptions in three consecutive games before being supplanted as the starter, promptly came in and threw a pick on a 20-yard tipped pass in the end zone by Cal safety Patrick McMorris that was secured by fellow Golden Bears safety Craig Woodson.

Maybe it was one final Pac-12 After Dark twist from the football gods. Before the quarter was over, the Bruins even got one final disconcerting signal penalty called against the defense. By the end of one quarter, UCLA was staring at a 6-0 deficit on head coach Chip Kelly's 60th birthday, no less.

The ghosts of the season weren't done wreaking havoc, either, as the Charles Dickens-esque story continued to unfold when running back Carson Steele was greeted early in the second quarter by the ghost of short-yardage failures while being stuffed on a fourth-and-1 run at the Cal 20-yard line.

The final ghost to visit the Bruins paid a visit later in the half to kicker Blake Glessner, who missed a 23-yard field goal to drop UCLA to 8 of 17 on attempts for the season.

Moore finally got the Bruins into the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown pass to receiver Logan Loya for a 7-6 lead that was set up by star edge rusher Laiatu Latu's interception to end the previous drive.

The short-lived lead lasted all of 14 seconds, with running back Jaydn Ott taking the ensuing kick return back 100 yards for a 13-7 advantage with 5:29 left in the half.

This was all in spite of UCLA's standout defense producing a pair of first-half interceptions, again left helpless by an offense that continued to have issues protecting Moore.

“From a special teams standpoint and an offensive standpoint, again, we moved the ball but we didn’t convert those into points. I think we wasted a really good effort from our defense,” Kelly said.

A Moore sack and lost fumble deep in UCLA's own territory that ultimately resulted in a Jeremiah Hunter 14-yard touchdown reception with 10 seconds left was the fitting end to the snowball and 20-7 halftime deficit.

The final spirit came to punctuate the contest early in the fourth quarter, as the lackluster UCLA kick return unit and return man Colson Yankoff coughed up a fumble that resulted in another Hunter touchdown catch four plays later to put the finishing touches on the Bruins' loss.

With the win, Cal (6-6, 4-5 Pac-12) became the eighth bowl eligible team from the Pac-12. Hunter finished with eight catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Golden Bears.

UCLA (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) will now await its bowl fate, which will be announced Dec. 3, and perhaps another announcement about Kelly's fate in the coming days.

“I don’t worry about that and I don’t worry about the dynamic,” Kelly said. “We understand where we are and we understand that we have to win games. I get that, that’s part of the deal. But I don’t think about those things, I don’t worry about those things.”

First quarter

5:25, Cal: PK Mateen Bhaghani 43-yard field goal, 3-0 Cal

0:36, Cal: PK Mateen Bhaghani 36-yard field goal, 6-0 Cal

Second quarter

5:43, UCLA: QB Dante Moore to WR Logan Loya, 5-yard TD pass (PAT GOOD, Blake Glessner), 7-6 UCLA

5:29, Cal: RB Jaydn Ott 100-yard kick return TD (PAT GOOD, Mateen Bhaghani), 13-7 Cal

0:10, Cal: QB Fernando Mendoza to WR Jeremiah Hunter, 14-yard TD pass (PAT GOOD, Mateen Bhaghani), 20-7 Cal

Third quarter

No scores

Fourth quarter

14:56, Cal: PK Mateen Bhaghani 32-yard field goal, 23-7 Cal

13:35, Cal: QB Fernando Mendoza to WR Jeremiah Hunter, 13-yard TD pass (PAT GOOD, Mateen Bhaghani), 30-7 Cal

3:42, Cal: PK Mateen Bhaghani 20-yard field goal, 33-7 Cal

When all else has failed this season, Loya has been the one constant in the offense and he produced again with nine catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.

His 13 targets, however, significantly dwarfed the rest of the team as defenses have focused on the bigger, more explosive J.Michael Sturdivant — a transfer from Cal.

No other UCLA receiver had more than five targets.

If this was indeed his final collegiate game, with his status for participating in the bowl game unknown, Latu went out looking like a player destined for national recognition by the time it gets to awards season.

In the first half alone, he had two quarterback hurries and a tackle for a loss to go with his interception.

But there was nothing the finalist for the Lombardi and Lott awards finalist could do about the result as the offense struggled with turnovers.

Latu's interception was the lone highlight as it helped lead to the lone brief lead.

Pick a season-long problem. There aren't many wrong choices in the bunch.

It was the prime example of everything that can go wrong will go wrong — and it all happened in a flurry that piled one on top of the other.

Moore was sacked six times and his decision-making didn't help matters, but neither did the instance on Kelly's part to have him immediately throw upon entering the game. The running game produced just 71 yards and never had a chance to help ease Moore into the game, as his first throw was an immediate turnover.

Steele was again ineffective in short-yardage and the only semblance of an adjustment was a fourth-down sneak Moore converted.

Execution in the red zone again was lacking to the tune of a 1-of-5 effort.

Special teams continued to be a disappointment. Whether it's been Glessner or R.J. Lopez, who opened the season as the starting kicker, the only consistency has been the inconsistency.

Yankoff was never a premier return man at any point this season and the fumble only made the decision to stick with him all season all the more puzzling.

The return team's poor coverage on Ott's 100-yard kick return for a touchdown was just the extra topping to a foul-tasting ice cream sundae of ineptitude on special teams.

Passing

Ethan Garbers: 7 of 9 for 43 yards

Dante Moore: 23 of 38 for 266 yards, TD, 2 INTs

Rushing

Carson Steele: 12 carries for 53 yards

T.J. Harden: 10 carries for 47 yards

Receiving

Logan Loya: 9 catches for 88 yards, TD

Defense

Laiatu Latu: 2 tackles (1 for a loss), INT

Gabriel Murphy: 6 tackles, (2 TFLs)

Kamari Ramsey: 5 tackles, INT