All throughout the week, UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster called for his offense to come out more calm in an effort to minimize the mistakes that have plagued the Bruins through the first two games. Quarterback Ethan Garbers, one of the bigger culprits in the rocky start, immediately stepped up to the challenge Saturday on the road in Baton Rouge, La.
The shorthanded Bruins' defense and thin offensive line, however, never got on track before completely wearing down in the second half.
UCLA, which pulled even before halftime, was overpowered on both sides of the line and shut out in the second half of a 34-17 loss at No. 16 Louisiana State.
The Bruins (1-2), who were without four players — and three starters — on the two-deep depth chart including defensive tackle Keanu Williams, linebacker Ale Kaho and receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, failed to produce a defensive stop in the second half and were outscored 17-0 after the break.
LSU (3-1) converted 10 of 15 chances on third down, continuing UCLA's struggles to get off the field.
Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was unbothered in the pocket, completing 32 of 44 pass attempts for 352 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Garbers, however, was consistently on the run and sacked five times by an overwhelming LSU defensive front. He finished 22-of-36 passing for 281 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Scoring summary
First quarter
12:19 LSU: QB Garrett Nussmeier to WR Zavion Thomas, 5-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Damian Ramos), 7-0 LSU
8:10, UCLA: QB Ethan Garbers to TE Jack Pedersen, 20-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Mateen Bhaghani), 7-7 tie
0:17, UCLA: PK Mateen Bhaghani 47-yard field goal, 10-7 UCLA
Second quarter
13:57, LSU: QB Garrett Nussmeier to WR Kyle Parker, 45-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Damian Ramos), 14-10 LSU
3:45, LSU: PK Damian Ramos 22-yard field goal, 17-10 LSU
0:02, UCLA: QB Ethan Garbers to WR Logan Loya, 11-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Mateen Bhaghani), 17-17 tie
Third quarter
6:11, LSU: RB Josh Williams 2-yard TD run (PAT GOOD, Damian Ramos), 24-17 LSU
Fourth quarter
11:15, LSU: QB Garrett Nussmeier to RB Caden Durham, 35-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Damian Ramos), 31-17 LSU
5:48, LSU: PK Damian Ramos 32-yard field goal, 34-17 LSU
Turning point of the game
Trailing 17-10 in the final 3:45 of the second quarter and knowing they would get the ball to open the second half, the Bruins got a gutsy drive from Garbers.
Garbers was 6 for 8 and capped the 11-play, 75-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown to receiver Logan Loya with two seconds remaining to tie the game 17-17. On the throw, Garbers stepped up and got the throw off despite taking a massive hit.
The key play on the drive was a 32-yard circus catch by freshman receiver Kwazi Gilmer, who kept his concentration to make a juggling grab at the LSU 3-yard line.
The Bruins also benefited from an overturned fumble call after a Keegan Jones reception and scored despite a holding call on left tackle Reuben Unije that wiped out a Garbers touchdown throw to receiver Rico Flores Jr.
It was a different story in the second half, as the Tigers limited to 89 total yards of offense.
Two lengthy LSU scoring drives that went for 14 plays for 96 yards and 11 plays for 92 yards wiped out a pair of Brody Richter punts inside the 10-yard line to put the game out of reach.
Bruins standout on offense: QB Ethan Garbers
A big part of the Bruins' early struggles coming into the contest was the fifth-year senior's four turnovers through two games.
Garbers engineered UCLA's first opening possession touchdown drive of the season, extending the drive with third- and fourth-down conversions to running backs Jones and T.J. Harden, respectively, before finding tight end Jack Pedersen for a 20-yard touchdown to tie the game 7-7.
The Bruins' offensive line still had issues protecting their quarterback, but Garbers evaded a sack and connected with Gilmer for another key third-down conversion that set up Mateen Bhaghani's 47-yard field goal to take the early 10-7 lead before end of the first quarter.
If not for a strip sack by the overpowering LSU defensive line, Garbers would have turned in a turnover-free half. He connected on 14 of 20 pass attempts for 198 yards and a pair of touchdowns and his 186.2 QB rating is higher than Tiger quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s 171.9 rating at the break.
Bruins standout on defense: LB Carson Schwesinger
The linebacker made a game-high 12 tackles as he did what he could to make up for a hit to UCLA's depth entering the contest.
Why UCLA lost
Plain and simple, the LSU offensive and defensive lines had its way and decided the game.
Garbers constantly had to maneuver through traffic and run from a swarm of defenders.
The Bruins were also penalized nine times for 80 yards and the defense failed to produce a sack for a second consecutive contest.
Notable UCLA stats
Passing
Ethan Garbers: 22 of 36 for 281 yards, 2 TDs, INT
Rushing
Keegan Jones: 3 carries for 22 yards
Jalen Berger: 3 carries for 19 yards
T.J. Harden: 7 carries for 15 yards
Receiving
Logan Loya: 4 catches for 46 yards, TD
Rico Flores Jr.: 4 catches for 27 yards
Keegan Jones: 3 catches for 50 yards
Kwazi Gilmer: 2 catches for 61 yards
Jack Pedersen: 1 catch for 20 yards, TD
Defense
Carson Schwesinger: 12 tackles, 1/2 TFL
Kain Medrano: 7 tackles
Jay Toia: 5 tackles, 1/2 TFL
Devin Aupiu: 3 tackles, TFL
