UCLA Football Opens Season With 16-13 Win at Hawai’i

HONOLULU – UCLA sophomore kicker Mateen Bhaghani kicked a game-winning 32-yard field goal to snap a 13-13 tie with 56 seconds to play, lifting the visiting Bruins past Hawai’i, 16-13, at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon.

 

The Bruins (1-0) trailed during the first three quarters of Saturday’s contest in Honolulu, overcoming a 10-0 first-half deficit before tying the game, 13-13, early in the final period. Saturday’s victory marked the first win for first-year UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster, who starred as a running back for the Bruins from 1998-2001.

 

Bhaghani was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goal attempts at Hawai’i (1-1), converting from 22 yards away in the third quarter and from 37 yards and 32 yards, respectively, in the final quarter on a hot afternoon in Honolulu. Bhaghani’s final successful attempt clinched UCLA’s first game-winning drive since the final week of the 2022 regular season at California.

“We didn’t really start the first half the way that we wanted to, but I was just glad with the way that they came out in the second half,” Foster said. “We came out and executed. It was about us more than exactly what they were doing to us. I just liked that my guys came out and fought hard. We continued to play and we were able to get the victory.”

 

UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers completed 19 of 38 pass attempts for 272 yards and one touchdown. Garbers threw two interceptions and totaled 47 net rushing yards on seven carries. The senior signal-caller had a game-high 16-yard carry in UCLA’s season-opening win.

 

Hawai’i quarterback Brayden Schager completed 25 of 42 pass attempts for 227 yards and one touchdown. Schager finished Saturday’s game with two interceptions and connected with Pofele Ashlock on nine recpetions, totaling 112 yards.

 

Bruins’ wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. had three pass receptions for a team-best 102 yards. The sophomore wide receiver from North Highlands, Calif., hauled in a 53-yard touchdown reception from Garbers early in the third quarter.

 

UCLA’s game-winning drive on Saturday was highlighted by back-to-back catches from Bruins’ tight ends Moliki Matavao and Bryce Pierre. Those plays allowed the Bruins to march down to the Hawai’i 14-yard line, where Bhaghani lined up for the decisive 32-yard field goal in UCLA’s season-opening game.

 

Trailing 10-0 at halftime, the Bruins tied the contest at 13-13 with 14:05 to play in the fourth quarter. After a successful field goal by the Rainbow Warriors late in the third quarter, UCLA’s Mateen Bhaghani kicked back-to-back field goals to tie the game, 13-13.

 

Bhaghani nailed a 22-yard field goal with 54 seconds left in the third quarter, cutting the Hawai’i cushion to 13-10. He also kicked a 37-yard field goal with 14:05 to play in the final quarter.

 

After falling behind by a 10-0 margin at halftime, the Bruins got on the board with 8:41 to play in the third quarter on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Garbers to Flores Jr. That reception marked Flores Jr.’s second career collegiate touchdown reception and his first as a Bruin.

 

Hawai’i added to its 10-7 cushion, as Kansei Matsuzawa kicked his second field goal of the afternoon, a 28-yarder with 4:12 to play in the third quarter.

 

The Bruins responded late in the third quarter with a 22-yard field goal by Bhaghani, cutting the Rainbow Warriors’ lead to 13-10. UCLA’s third quarter field goal was set up by an impressive 53-yard reception by Flores Jr. at the 2:03 mark on a third-and-12 situation.

 

The Rainbow Warriors had secured a 10-0 cushion by halftime on Saturday. Hawai’i took advantage of a fake punt midway through the first half and later, in the final minute of the second quarter, capitalized on an interception to score a last-second field goal in the second quarter.

 

With 11:06 to play in the opening quarter, Hawai’i converted on a fourth-and-6 opportunity with a fake punt rush. Five plays later, the Rainbow Warriors scored on a 19-yard strike from Schager to Ashlock.

 

Garbers was intercepted by Hawai’i with 20 seconds left in the second quarter, allowing Hawai’i to kick a 28-yard field goal as time expired. The field goal pushed Hawai’i ahead of UCLA, 10-0.

 

The Bruins played their first season-opening game on the road since the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season. UCLA secured its first win on the road in a season opener since defeating No. 7-ranked Virginia, 28-20, on Aug. 30, 2014.

 

UCLA will return to action with its first-ever Big Ten Conference game against Indiana on Saturday, Sept. 14. Game time at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., that Saturday is set for 4:30 p.m. (PT). UCLA’s first-ever Big Ten contest will be nationally televised on NBC (and PeacockTV.com, a streaming service from NBCUniversal).