As they ran into a tunnel leading into the locker room for halftime, UCLA players were loudly serenaded by a pack of fans in a nearby corner of Tiger Stadium shouting the school’s four letters.
The Bruins had finally provided something to cheer about after largely listless showings in their first two games, countering every punch Louisiana State delivered while pulling into a surprising tie.
Most of the progress revolved around quarterback Ethan Garbers, who fended off heavy pressure to fire two touchdown passes and give the Bruins’ offense some much-needed life.
But given a chance to notch a victory that would run a reverse on the early narrative of the DeShaun Foster era, the Bruins’ offense went quiet and their defense faltered in the second half of a 34-17 loss to the No. 16 Tigers before 100,315 mostly relieved fans.
“It’s four quarters and we showed up for two of them,” Foster said, “and when you’re playing a good team like that, you’ve got to show up for all four.”
Any chance of a comeback died with 9 minutes 25 seconds left. With his team trailing by two touchdowns and needing a spark, Garbers fired a pass that was intercepted by Tigers safety Jardin Gilbert at the Bruins’ 45-yard line.
After showing so much promise while forging a 17-17 halftime tie, UCLA (1-2) was shut out the rest of the way. The Bruins’ defense also struggled over the final two quarters as the Tigers (3-1) outscored them, 17-0.
“We can’t continue to beat ourselves, we have to allow a team to beat us,” Foster said, “but this is baby steps and I just like the way that my team is fighting — they’re being resilient and they’re continually trying to fight during the game.”
Two big issues continue to plague UCLA: the lack of a pass rush and a running game that’s gone practically nowhere.
UCLA ran for only 14 yards, though that statistic is somewhat deceiving given it included five sacks that pushed the team back 41 yards. The Bruins running backs gained 56 yards in 13 carries and wide receiver Carter Shaw gained nine yards on a reverse.
“We’re one block away, one step away,” said Foster, who was particularly encouraged by Jalen Berger’s 19 yards in three carries. “The run game is not exactly where I need it to be, but it’s improving, you know?”
The same cannot be said for UCLA’s pass rush. The Bruins did not register one sack, only two tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries. That lack of pressure allowed LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier all the time he needed to complete 32 of 44 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns.
LSU surged ahead midway through the third quarter with a little help from the Bruins. One play after UCLA cornerback Jaylin Davies was called for pass interference in the end zone, Tigers running back Josh Wiliams bulled ahead for a two-yard touchdown run to give his team a 24-17 advantage. LSU’s Caden Durham later added a 35-yard catch-and-run in which he slipped a tackle from UCLA’s Carson Schwesinger to give the Tigers a two-touchdown edge.
There had been so much momentum for the Bruins about an hour earlier.
Under heavy pressure on his team’s final drive of the first half, Garbers zipped a pass just as he was taking a massive hit to slot receiver Logan Loya for an 11-yard touchdown that deadlocked the score at 17-17.
“We thought we had a really good chance to win this game — which we did,” Garbers said. “We got the ball back in the third quarter and we needed to put a drive together and we just didn’t execute.”
Earlier, Garbers had connected with tight end Jack Pedersen on a 20-yard touchdown pass over the middle to forge another tie. When kicker Mateen Bhaghani added a 47-yard field goal late in the first quarter, the Bruins had their first lead in a first half this season.
What was the difference? The team that had looked so good in practice finally showed up in a game after exhaling deeply and playing its best football of the season.
“Our mindset was better,” Garbers said. “You know, the whole week we were talking about how, ‘Hey, there’s no pressure on us to go out there and perform.’ Like, we just need to play free and play with no pressure. I mean, everyone was doing their job, everyone knew what to do and we were executing. So, it seems like it worked.”
UCLA responded to every early setback, including four sacks by the Tigers and a holding call on left tackle Reuben Unije that wiped out a Garbers touchdown pass before halftime. No matter. Garbers threw another one two plays later.
Eventually, the Bruins ran out of answers.
Garbers completed 22 of 36 passes or 281 yards and two touchdowns to go with one interception and a lost fumble. It wasn’t enough.
“How we played in the first half against a great SEC team, I am proud of that,” Garbers said. “However, I am not proud of the result and know we have work to do to get back to what we hope to achieve as a team.”
