I know there’s no such thing as moral victories in today’s era of college football, but given the circumstances surrounding the UCLA Bruins visit to Baton Rouge on Saturday, this comes awfully close.
Coming off a 29-point demolition at home to Indiana with questions about the team’s energy at practice all week, coupled with possibly missing their top two interior linemen for the showdown with LSU, the Bruins headed into SEC territory seemingly lacking confidence, energy, and depth.
But in a performance that surprised most, UCLA played dead even with the now #14 LSU Tigers, strutting into halftime tied at 17 to a cohesively concentrated contingent of Bruin faithful that made the trip.
While the second half yielded a lopsided score of 17-0 in route to a 34-17 defeat, much can be positively dissected from this performance moving forward.
What We Learned From The UCLA Bruins Loss To LSU, Including Ethan Garbers
Arrival Of New Playmakers
With the absence of quarterback Ethan Garbers’ favorite target, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, additional reinforcements needed to be called upon – some familiar, others fresh. The re-emergence of Logan Loya en route to four receptions for 46 yards including a spectacular 11-yard touchdown reception on the Bruins final offensive play of the first half was a sight for sore eyes.
As was Keegan Jones getting more touches, three through the air and three more on the ground, including a dramatic 28-yard juggling reception out of the flat on third down of the Bruins’ opening drive that was seemingly the catalyst of their first-half momentum.
But in addition to these household Bruin names, was the unexpected brilliance of Kwazi Gilmer, the freshman phenom conjuring up memories of Freddie Mitchell with two receptions for a team-leading 61 yards.
The former was a 29-yard grab on third down where Gilmer established elite separation and the latter, was a tipped snag for 32 yards that set up the Loya touchdown moments later.
Along with Gilmer was Michigan State running back transfer Jalen Berger, who in limited action, garnered three carries for 19 yards and showed a tenaciously smooth downhill running style that could be the ideal thunder to Jones’ lightning going forward.
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Good Ethan, Bad Ethan
Garbers’ play continues to show flashes of brilliance, albeit not yet for a full four quarters. In the first half, the senior signal caller had 198 yards passing, along with two touchdowns.
In addition to his pinpoint throws to the likes of Gilmer, Loya, and Jones, he found TJ Harden on a beautifully decisive dart in the flat on fourth down of the Bruins’ opening possession for 13 yards, and that was immediately followed by a perfect read to tight end Jack Peterson on a 20-yard delayed seam route for a touchdown where Garbers masterfully fooled the defense with eye manipulation.
Unfortunately, the second half didn’t yield the same results as Garbers was limited to just 83 yards in the air with one interception.
Rhythm was challenging as the offensive line had repeated false starts to put them behind the chains while Garbers was hit much more frequently as the Tigers rolled up five sacks for the day.
Much of the quarterback’s struggles however were a direct result of play-calling. Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy needs to dial up more three-step drops with decisive options to prevent Garbers from holding the ball too long and getting into compromised predicaments with a collapsing pocket that invariably leads to turnovers in traffic.
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Trenches At Ground Zero
All of this leads directly to the performance of the offensive line that continues to be an Achilles heel for the UCLA Bruins.
Josh Carlin seems to be struggling to make the transition to center, Alani Makihele and Reuben Unije have their hands full transitioning to Power Four football, and Garrett DiGiorgio has regressed from last year’s progress.
It’s a unit that’s desperately struggling to keep Garbers upright while only enabling 14 rushing yards against the Tigers. It begs the question of why Notre Dame transfer Michael Carmody isn’t getting any reps.
Unfortunately, it is hard to stay positive on the other side of the trenches either. For the second consecutive week, the defensive line couldn’t generate a single sack while permitting LSU to go 10/15 on third down. For those keeping score at home, Bruins’ opponents have now gone 19/27, a staggering 70%, on third down conversions in consecutive weeks.
The inability to conjure any pass rush whatsoever from the front four all season must lead defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe to ask some fundamentally existential questions: a.) either change the scheme entirely to three down linemen and drop eight in coverage, or b.) extend the depth chart and rotate more line pieces such as Collins Acheampong, to avoid wearing out.
The Bruins certainly showed a ton of grit, particularly in that first half against LSU. It took consecutive 90+ yard scoring drives by the Tigers to ultimately knock the UCLA Bruins out in the second half…a valiant effort that hopefully can be built upon heading into Oregon week.