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Bruins beat Iowa for first Rose Bowl win of the season

UCLA linebacker Kain Medrano (20) and defensive back Devin Kirkwood sack Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan during the first half Friday night at the Rose Bowl. UCLA’s defense was instrumental in a 20-17 Big Ten Conference win. Photos by Keith Birmingham / Staff Photographer

UCLA placekicker Mateen Bhaghani kicks the go-ahead, 27-yard field goal against Iowa with just less than five minutes to go in the game. Hawkeyes in the fourth quarter of a NCAA Football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.

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By Haley Sawyer

hsawyer@scng.com

PASADENA — UCLA extended its Big Ten Conference win streak to three games and achieved its first home win of the season on Friday night when they beat Iowa 20-17.

Special teams and defense helped the Bruins (4-5 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) recover from a 10-point deficit and limit Iowa (6-4, 4-3) in front of a Rose Bowl Stadium crowd of 53,467.

Linebacker Carson Schwesinger, a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, had two interceptions and the rushing attack had its most successful game of the season with 211 yards. Running back T.J. Harden led the way with 125 yards.

Schwesinger grabbed an interception and the defense forced a three-and-out to set the Bruins up for two touchdowns in the first half after Mateen Bhaghani hit the second-longest field goal in program history by sending the ball just barely over the crossbar from 57 yards.

Schwesinger’s interception set UCLA up at the 45-yard line. Harden and Jalen Berger combined for runs that got the the Bruins to the 2-yard line. Garbers fired a short pass to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala for the touchdown.

The defense forced Iowa to punt for the first time in the game toward the end of the second quarter and got the ball back in Garbers’ hands.

The redshirt senior and Logan Loya teamed up to pull UCLA ahead 17-10 when they connected for passes of 11 and 29 yards — the latter of which resulted in a touchdown when Loya cradled the ball as he fell into the end zone with 3:23 left on the clock.

Loya was sure-handed amidst a depleted offense that was without tight end Moliki Matavao and receivers Rico Flores, Jr. and J.Michael Sturdivant. He finished with five catches for 94 yards.

Linebacker Kain Medrano also stripped the ball from Iowa’s Brendan Sullivan, reaching in to scoop the ball out of the crook of the quarterback’s arm before the first half came to a close. On the other side of the break, Schwesinger grabbed his second interception of the game after Oluwafemi Oladejo came off the edge to pressure Sullivan.

Sullivan left the game due to an apparent injury in the third quarter and the Hawkeyes brought in Jackson Stratton, who has very little playing experience. Stratton joined Iowa as a walk-on after previously playing for Colorado State.

Still, Iowa managed to put together a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter by going 61 yards in 14 plays. Kamari Moulton punched the ball in from a yard out to tie the game at 17-17 despite pressure from Oladejo and a pass breakup by Ramon Henderson earlier in the drive.

Bhaghani added a 27-yard field goal with 4:49 left in the game.

UCLA next travels to Washington for a 6 p.m. tipoff on Friday and returns to Rose Bowl Stadium on Nov. 23 to play USC.