Familiar problems haunt UCLA during lopsided late night loss to No. 8 Oregon

UCLA fans who gave up and went to bed should consider themselves the smart ones.

They only missed more disappointment.

A late start for the Bruins on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl came with an early ending for hopes of an upset.

UCLA fell behind by multiple touchdowns, found a flicker of hope with a big defensive play and ultimately came up short once again during a 34-13 loss to No. 8 Oregon.

The Bruins played the final nine minutes with backup quarterback Justyn Martin in the game after starter Ethan Garbers, already limping, got walloped in the end zone and came out, a pat to the head from one of his coaches serving as no solace.

That’s three consecutive losses for the Bruins (1-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten), with little hope of a reprieve next weekend on the road against No. 9 Penn State.

It was basically the same old sad story for UCLA: The Bruins couldn’t generate a pass rush or do much in the running game.

For a third consecutive game, UCLA did not register a sack. The lack of pressure allowed Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel to shrug off one shaky stretch to complete 31 of 41 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns to go with one interception.

Read more: How does UCLA feel about its late Big Ten After Dark start time against Oregon?

His Bruins counterpart was not nearly as efficient while on the run all night. In a sign of how things were going, Garbers lost a shoe on one play in which he threw the ball away while eluding defenders. He completed 12 of 20 passes for 118 yards and two interceptions before his departure after he held the back of his helmet in apparent anguish.

What was UCLA coach DeShaun Foster’s thinking in leaving Garbers in the game while clearly hobbled?

“Well, if you know Ethan, you know he was fighting to stay out there," Foster said. "So when you have a player that’s begging to stay out there and he wanted to keep playing, [they're] going to let him play.”

Was Garbers in concussion protocol given that he was holding his head after taking the last hit?

“I would assume he was crying or sad about the situation,” Foster said.

Bruins center Josh Carlin said Garbers was OK after the game but that the offensive line’s inability to protect its quarterback was unacceptable.

“He’s all good,” Carlin said. “I was talking to him, and I told him that as the leader of the offensive line, we need to figure this out. We need to keep him up. We failed at that miserably. We got to start taking pride and not let him get hurt and not let him get touched so he can operate this offense.”

Trailing by 15 points on the final play of the third quarter, UCLA’s remote chances for a comeback ended when Garbers had a pass intercepted on fourth down. Expected to be the strength of the offense, Garbers now has twice as many interceptions (six) as touchdown passes (three).

“You know, it’s hard to play quarterback when you’re not upright,” Foster said, “so he’s a tough kid and he’s trying to find ways to make plays and it’s just unfortunate, what’s happened, but I’m riding with Ethan no matter what.”

UCLA’s run game ran the risk of finishing in negative yardage before some big runs from TJ Harden (53 yards in 13 carries) in the third quarter helped move the Bruins into positive territory. UCLA finished with 47 yards on the ground and averaged only two yards per carry, though a big part of that came as a result of the 21 yards lost on sacks.

The debut of “Big Ten After Dark” was nearly a blackout for the UCLA offense, which managed just two field goals and has not topped 17 points in a game this season. The Bruins’ offense has scored only four touchdowns in as many games.

This is the first time that UCLA has failed to score 20 points in its first four games since 1963 under coach Bill Barnes when the Bruins finished 2-8 that season.

UCLA’s 28-10 halftime deficit did not fully reflect the essence of what had happened given that Oregon (4-0, 1-0) held a 304-54 advantage in total yardage. The Ducks finished the game with a 433-172 edge in that category.

Foster pinned his defense’s inability to generate pressure on the loss of edge rusher Laiatu Latu, who continues to wreak havoc as a rookie with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

“It’s a tough thing to replace a player of his caliber,” Foster said, “but as long as we can continue to make efforts to do so, eventually you’re going to see a change.”

A former Duck spared his new team a blowout with some spunky play late in the first half. Bruins safety Bryan Addison, who had walloped Oregon receiver Terrance Ferguson on an incomplete pass earlier in the second quarter, stepped in front of a Gabriel pass and returned the interception 96 yards for a touchdown that injected some life into a listless crowd.

Pointing to a run game that generated 54 yards in the second half and a defense that held the Ducks mostly in check after they built a big early lead, Foster said he saw signs of progress.

“I know y’all see it — some of you choose not to,” Foster said, “but they’re improving and we’re just going to continue to improve and keep working hard and eventually it’s going to turn around.”

Foster said he was encouraged that his players kept fighting but acknowledged that there was nothing that could be said to change the team’s fortunes.

“It’s our actions,” Foster said. “Actions speak louder than words. We’ve got to change our actions out there on the field and hopefully that will fix some stuff.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.