Bruins can’t hold on against Minnesota

UCLA FOOTBALL

UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers is helped up by Niki Prongos, left, and Garrett DiGiorgio after he was sacked by Minnesota. SEAN M. HAFFEY — GETTY IMAGES

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By Haley Sawyer

hsawyer@scng.com

PASADENA >> The UCLA football team got out to its best start of the season and dug itself out of a deficit but still fell to Minnesota, 21-17, on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.

Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Darius Taylor with 27 seconds left to rally the visiting Golden Gophers to the victory.

UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers completed 25 of 36 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown.

It looked like UCLA might pull out its first Big Ten Conference win when Garbers connected with J.Michael Sturdivant for a 42-yard touchdown pass with 6:54 left in the game. The touchdown strike capped an 89-yard drive that was fueled by short passes and runs by T.J. Harden, Keegan Jones and Jalen Berger.

But the Bruins (1-5, 0-4) couldn’t stop Minnesota’s final drive or hold the Golden Gophers (4-3, 2-2) to a field goal that would have sent the game into overtime.

The Bruins went into halftime with a 10-0 advantage — their first halftime lead of the season — but Minnesota scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to pull ahead. Quarterback Max Brosmer connected with Elijah Spencer for a 12-yard touchdown and Darius Taylor scored on a 2-yard rush.

Garbers started at quarterback after missing the previous week due to injury and led the Bruins to a touchdown on their first offensive drive of the game.

Garbers hit Logan Loya with a 14-yard pass to move UCLA to the 2-yard line, and three plays later, Jones took a direct snap and punched the ball in from a yard out.

It was Jones’ first touchdown of the season and the first time UCLA scored on its opening possession all season. The Bruins increased the lead to 10-0 on a 34-yard field goal by Mateen Bhaghani.

While the Bruins’ passing game took flight early, their pass rush kept Minnesota grounded for the majority of the game.

Golden Gophers linebacker Cody Lindenberg intercepted a Garbers pass early in the second quarter, but Minnesota’s offense wasn’t on the field for long. UCLA defensive lineman Siale Taupaki came up with a timely sack and edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo’s tackle for loss forced a third-and-11 situation that the Golden Gophers couldn’t convert on.

UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger ended the game with 12 total tackles and two sacks to continue his hot streak of defensive contributions.

The Bruins will look for their first Big Ten win when they travel to Rutgers on their longest road trip of the season next week.