Upset-minded UCLA shows some punch before fading in loss to No. 16 LSU
🏈 LSU 34, UCLA 17 — FINAL
BATON ROUGE, La. — 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 finally had provided something to cheer 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.
LSU extends its lead on field goal in the fourth quarter
🏈 LSU 34, UCLA 17 — 5:48 left in the fourth quarter
Damian Ramos kicked a 32-yard field goal to extend LSU’s lead as the Tigers continue to exert complete control over UCLA in the second half.
After Ethan Garbers committed an interception, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier led the Tigers to the UCLA 14 before failing to connect with Kyren Lacy on third down.
UCLA will need to score quickly to have any chance at a comeback.
Ethan Garbers picked off by LSU’s Jardin Gilbert
🏈 LSU 31, UCLA 17 — 9:25 left in the fourth quarter
Ethan Garbers committed an interception under pressure on third down, further complicating the Bruins’ dimming hopes of mounting a comeback against LSU.
After being sacked by Jay’viar Suggs on second down, Garbers was flushed out of the pocket and picked off by LSU safety Jardin Gilbert.
Garbers has been sacked five times today.
LSU will take over at the UCLA 32. If Garrett Nussmeier is able to craft another time-consuming possession against the struggling UCLA defense, it likely would mean a second loss for the Bruins.
It wasn’t all good news for LSU — star linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. sustained a knee injury during the Bruins’ possession and has been ruled out for the remainder of the game.
LSU extends its lead on 35-yard Caden Durham TD catch
🏈 LSU 31, UCLA 17 — 11:44 left in the fourth quarter
LSU freshman running back Caden Durham sped past the UCLA secondary to score on a 35-yard catch-and-run and extend the Tigers’ lead early in the fourth quarter.
LSU’s second half adjustments offense — focused on exploiting UCLA’s defensive weaknesses in the short passing game — have proved successful on the Tigers’ last two possessions. The Garrett Nussmeier-led offense marched 92 yards on 11 plays after scoring on a 96-yard drive in the third quarter.
Can Ethan Garbers help UCLA find the end zone quickly to salvage any chance of an upset?
Good-looking UCLA drive fizzles after costly penalty
🏈 LSU 24, UCLA 17 — 1:30 left in the third quarter
A good-looking UCLA drive came to a screeching halt when 15-yard clipping penalty thwarted a scoring opportunity for the upset-minded Bruins.
A 23-yard pass from Ethan Garbers to J.Michael Sturdivant and a 17-yard run by Keegan Jones fueled the drive to the LSU 27 before the costly penalty forced UCLA into third and 35 before an eventual punt.
It’ll be up to UCLA defense to find a way to stop LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier here.
LSU retakes lead after 96-yard drive to open second half
🏈 LSU 24, UCLA 17 — 6:11 left in the third quarter
Josh Williams scored on a two-yard touchdown run to cap a methodical, 14-play, 96-yard drive by the Tigers to put them back into the lead.
A 33-yard pass from LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to Mason Taylor was the highlight of a drive that feature a trio of third-down conversions by the Tigers.
LSU doing everything it can to avoid an upset in front of an announced crowd of 100,315 at Tiger Stadium.
UCLA scores another TD to tie game just before halftime
🏈 UCLA 17, LSU 17 — HALFTIME
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers stepped up under intense pressure and connected with Logan Loya on an 11-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with two seconds left in the first half to cap what has been a stunning first-half performance by the Bruins.
True freshman wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer set up the touchdown, making a spectacular, 32-yard catch to put UCLA on the LSU 3. Gilmer managed to catch the ball after it was initially batted into the air.
A holding penalty wiped out what would have been a wide-open TD pass to Rico Flores, but the Bruins still managed to score. The drive narrowly avoided disaster when an on-field fumble call off a Keegan Jones catch-and-run was overruled on video review.
Garbers has completed 14 of 20 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns, benefiting from what has been better-orchestrated game by offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Garbers, who was sacked four times in the first half, has completed passes to seven different receivers. The Bruins have struggled on the ground, with just eight yards in 16 carries.
LSU coach Brian Kelly on why the Bruins are having success on offense (to ESPN’s Katie George): “Because we do not do our job on defense consistently enough. ... That’s the frustrating part about it: our guys want to do it, they’re just not consistent in doing their jobs, so you’re going to give up some points.”
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has completed 14 of 20 passes for 164 yards.
LSU extends lead on field goal after UCLA fumble
🏈 LSU 17, UCLA 10 — 3:36 left in the second quarter
UCLA’s Kaylin Moore broke up a pass intended for LSU wide receiver Kyren Lacy in the end zone to hold the Tigers to a 22-yard field goal by Damian Ramos.
After capitalizing on a fumble by quarterback Ethan Garbers at the UCLA 37, LSU drove to the Bruins’ 5-yard line. But the UCLA defense came up with another important stop to limit the damage off the turnover.
Ethan Garbers loses the ball on a strip sack
🏈 LSU 14, UCLA 10 — 4:54 left in the second quarter
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers lost the ball on strip sack by LSU defensive end Bradyn Swinson. Defensive end Sai’vion Jones recovered the ball on the UCLA 37, giving the Tiger prime field position to extend their lead.
Until then, Garbers was impressing, converted on a trio of third downs on the possession, the last of which featured him scrambling 14 yards.
Starting right tackle Garrett DiGiorgio sustained an injury and limped off the field during the possession.
UCLA defense stops another LSU drive
🏈 LSU 14, UCLA 10 — 10:21 left in the second quarter
UCLA’s defense foils another LSU drive after Garrett Nussmeier failed to connect with Kyren Lacy on third down.
The Bruins are finding success on defense after struggling to contain Indiana last week. Can Ethan Garbers and the UCLA offense find the end zone again?
Spectacular touchdown catch puts LSU back into the lead
🏈 LSU 14, UCLA 10 — 13:22 left in the second quarter
Redshirt freshman Kyle Parker made an amazing 45-yard touchdown catch on an equally spectacular pass from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to push the Tigers back into the lead.
UCLA cornerback Croix Stewart was all over Parker in coverage, but the dead-on pass to the sprinting Parker down the sideline was just too much to stop before Parker managed to muscle his way into the end zone. The touchdown capped a four-play, 75-yard drive.
The Bruins went three-and-out on the ensuing possession.
UCLA takes 10-7 lead on 47-yard field goal
🏈 UCLA 10, LSU 7 — 17 seconds left in the first quarter
Mateen Bhaghani kicked a 47-yard field goal to give UCLA its first lead in a first half this season.
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers escaped pressure and connected on a beautiful, 29-yard pass to true freshman wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer to put the Bruins in field-goal range. However, Garbers was sacked a handful of plays later by Paris Shand and Sai’vion Jones to stymie the seven-play, 27-yard drive.
So far, though, the Bruins are exceeding expectations. Garbers has completed six of nine passes for 102 yards and the Bruins have converted on two third downs and one fourth down.
UCLA coach DeShaun Foster on the Bruins’ first quarter (to ESPN sideline reporter Katie George): “Started fast. That’s what we needed to do. We need to come out and make some plays, you know? Stay in the game, like we are, and keep playing.”
UCLA defense stops Garrett Nussmeier and LSU on fourth down
🏈 UCLA 7, LSU 7 — 3:29 left in the first quarter
The Bruins stopped LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier on fourth down to take over at their own 44.
LSU wide receiver Kyren Lacy dropped a pass after breaking coverage on third down before Nussmeier failed to connect on a pass intended for Zavion Thomas on fourth down.
Lacy’s dropped pass certainly helped, but the UCLA defense didn’t make life easy for Nussmeier on that drive.
UCLA strikes back, scoring a touchdown on its first possession
🏈 UCLA 7, LSU 7 — 8:10 left in the first quarter
Is Ethan Garbers back? It certainly looks like he could be.
After lackluster performances against Hawaii and Indiana, Garbers executed an eight-play, 75-yard drive on UCLA’s first possession, capping it with a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jack Pedersen.
One play before, UCLA converted on fourth and two when Garbers completed a 13-yard pass to T.J. Harden on a perfectly executed play. Earlier in the drive, Keegan Jones made a nice, 23-yard catch on third down. Garbers completed five of six passes for 73 yards on the drive.
It’s a promising start for the Eric Bieniemy-orchestrated offense.
LSU jumps out to quick lead on Zavion Thomas touchdown
🏈 LSU 7, UCLA 0 — 12:19 left in the first quarter
The defensive woes that plagued UCLA in its blowout loss to Indiana haven’t gone anywhere.
LSU dominated the UCLA defense on its opening drive, with receiver Zavion Thomas taking a toss from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and sprinting around the Bruins to score on a five-yard touchdown run.
A 23-yard run by running back Josh Williams was the highlight of the six-play, 75-yard drive by the Tigers.
Game underway: Bruins will be on defense to start
UCLA’s defense will be immediately tasked with trying to stop LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier with the Tigers starting with the ball.
It’s 90 degrees at kickoff with 54% humidity — challenging conditions the Bruins will have to overcome this afternoon.
Will Jay Toia play against LSU on Saturday?
Star defensive tackle Jay Toia isn’t among the players listed as out or questionable on the official availability report ahead of UCLA’s showdown with LSU:
‘E.B., what are you doing?’ Eric Bieniemy blames himself for UCLA’s rocky start
The expletives and biting one-liners that Eric Bieniemy unleashes on a football field never cut as deep as the internal dialogue.
If anyone is to blame for what goes wrong, it’s UCLA’s offensive coordinator, and he’s not afraid to let himself hear it.
“You’ve got to understand, I go back and kick myself in the ass — man, ‘Why’d I call this play? Why did I do that? E.B., what are you doing?’” Bieniemy told The Times on Wednesday with a hearty chuckle.
“Just like I’m hard on them, I’m even harder on myself because it’s my job to make sure that I’m giving them the best opportunity. There’s a few calls that I know I would love to take back and if you could, if I had an opportunity to be a time traveler, certain things would be different.”
Pain, eventual gain? DeShaun Foster wants UCLA to use horrid loss as motivation
Embrace the hurt. Sit with the discomfort. Marinate in the misery.
That was the essence of UCLA coach DeShaun Foster’s message to his team after the Bruins on Saturday absorbed their worst loss in a home opener since a 35-0 beatdown by Stanford in 2010.
“I just told them to keep that feeling that you had as soon as the game was over,” Foster said Monday, referring to the Bruins’ 42-13 loss to Indiana at the Rose Bowl. “Bottle it up and have it out here every day this week and find a way to just not have that feeling.”
The Bruins might have felt a little too down Monday based on their subdued start to practice. During the roughly half hour of the session open to reporters, players ran through drills in a perfunctory manner. Normally chatty coaches were quiet.
Betting odds for UCLA vs. LSU on Saturday
Two college football teams on exact opposite trajectories head into Week 3 of the college football season.
UCLA will play Louisiana State in Baton Rouge, La., at 12:30 p.m. PDT. The game will air on ABC and ESPN+ and will be available on 1150 AM in the Los Angeles area.
Here’s a look at the betting odds heading into the game:
Ethan Garbers must get going for UCLA: Four things to watch vs. LSU
Discipline, respect … and what was that third pillar again?
Enthusiasm was not in abundance during the early part of UCLA football practices open to the media this week, players quietly going about their business while disregarding one of their coach’s core principles. Cornerback Kaylin Moore said coaches huddled up players a second time during one session because of a lack of energy.
Coach DeShaun Foster disputed the idea that his team was dragging after just two games, saying the energy level was “where I needed it to be” as the Bruins (1-1) prepared to face No. 16 Louisiana State (2-1) on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.