UCLA football bests Rutgers 35-32 in its first Big Ten win

PISCATAWAY – A career-high in single-game rushing yards. 

A career-high in single-game passing yards. 

A career-high in single-game passing touchdowns. 

It might have taken two years of anticipation and five conference games, but behind redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers, the Bruins captured their inaugural Big Ten win. 

In the schools’ first-ever duel, UCLA football (2-5, 1-4 Big Ten) handed Rutgers (4-3, 1-3) a 35-32 loss in front of a 53,726 sellout crowd at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday. In a performance for the books, Garbers racked up 383 passing yards – connecting on 84% of his throws – and was responsible for five trips to the end zone.

“It felt great, I’m not going to lie, but nothing is better than ultimately getting that W that’s the best feeling in the world,” Garbers said. “All the stats, all that stuff doesn’t really matter. It’s just seeing my guys smile and knowing that on this five hour flight, we’re gonna have a good time.”

The Bruins capitalized on their opening possession with an 11-play touchdown drive – culminating in a five-yard pass to redshirt senior Logan Loya. 

And two possessions later – after the Scarlet Knights responded with a touchdown drive of their own – came the Bruins’ exclamation point. 

With his pocket holding strong, Garbers bolted through an open gap. A juke made a man miss and the quarterback was off and running down the sideline. 49-yards from the line of scrimmage, UCLA’s field general found paydirt, putting the Bruins up off a rushing touchdown. 

“They (my teammates) can refer to me as sneaky athletic,” Garbers said. “When I get out of the pocket I’m just looking to get four or five yards. And in that case, I made one man miss, and then those guys, all the receivers, set up fantastic blocks. It couldn’t be more perfect.”

By the end of the first half – after junior running back T.J. Harden entered the touchdown mix off Garbers’ 22-yard pass – the Bruins’ signal-caller was 21-for-25 with 224 passing yards and three total touchdowns – Garbers’ best single-half performance this season. 

The Scarlet Knights fought back with nine points on their first two second-half possessions, but the Bruins remained right on schedule.

Garbers found a wide-open redshirt senior running back Keegan Jones for a 67-yard touchdown score in the third quarter, putting UCLA back up by two scores. 

“I was like, Eth, Eth, Eth,” Jones said. “As soon as he looked at me I was like, ‘Yup, here we go. … I got to take this thing to the crib.’”

Jones finished Saturday with a team-leading 114 receiving yards. He was the only Bruin to reach triple digits besides senior tight end Moliki Matavao, who compiled 104 yards on six receptions. 

Another UCLA running back joined the offensive barrage in the final frame – the Newark, New Jersey, local Jalen Berger. With 12:13 left in the game, Garbers dumped the ball to the redshirt senior for the score to put UCLA up 35-19 with the extra point. 

Rutgers kept itself in the game in its ensuing drive. Kaliakmanis found wide receiver KJ Duff for a 59-yard completion, ultimately setting up a touchdown for running back Kyle Monangai. 

The Knights and Bruins swapped mistakes later in the fourth when redshirt senior defensive back Bryan Addison’s interception of Kaliakmanis was met with a fumble from Garbers. 

Monangai later ran in for his third touchdown of the day to slice the margin to three – but the effort proved for naught.

The imminent onside kick landed in the hands of redshirt freshman wide receiver Grant Gray, who took the ball to the end zone. The ball was later called back as Loya called for a fair catch on the kickoff, meaning Garbers would fittingly get to finish the game out with a trio of kneels. 

In a game ultimately settled by a three-point margin, the Bruin defense thwarted a crucial pair of two-point conversions – the first coming in the third quarter and the second in the fourth.

“That’s huge,” said coach DeShaun Foster. “It was something that I know coach Ikaika (defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe) was really fired up about.” 

Foster, however, isn’t satisfied by a lonely conference win.

“I’m excited to get a Big Ten win but we’ve got a few more games and I would like to get bowl-eligible,” Foster said. “So we’re going to continue to play and hopefully we can get there.”