In their first game as a member of the Big Ten Conference, the UCLA Bruins nearly suffered an embarrassing upset to Hawaii.
The Rainbow Warriors threw everything they could at the Bruins, including trick plays, as the team nearly took home a win. The visiting Bruins struggled to get anything going on offense, and their special teams unit did them no favors as well. UCLA will need to focus and fix their mistakes for their opening conference game against the Indiana Hoosiers next week.
UCLA Bruins Narrowly Sneak Past Hawaii Rainbow Warriors During Ugly Game
In their first game as a member of the Big Ten Conference, the Bruins flew down to Hawaii and nearly flew away with a loss. The Bruins are beginning a new chapter in their history as a part of another storied conference. However, the UCLA offense provided a performance to forget against the Rainbow Warriors and nearly let the win slip away.
The UCLA football team recorded 272-yards through the air and just 72-yards on the ground as the offense could not get into a rhythm against Hawaii. The Bruins recorded two interceptions against Hawaii, including a crucial interception that occurred on their own six yard line. The Bruins never seemed confident on offense, but truly started to pull things together in the second half.
UCLA did not score a point during the first half of play and went through plenty of heartbreak, between interceptions and a missed field goal. The second half, however, was a different story as receiver Rico Flores Jr broke off a big touchdown to bring the Bruins back into the game. Kicker Mateen Bhaghani recorded three field goals for the Bruins and gave the team a late lead for the win.
It was certainly not the fashion that the Bruins wanted to start their season off, but it was also an important one for the team. The UCLA football team will have tough challenges up ahead against #13 LSU, #3 Oregon, and #8 Penn State all in a row. If that is not bad enough, the Bruins also have to face #25 Iowa and #23 USC later on in the season.
What Did the UCLA Bruins do Right, do Wrong Against the Rainbow Warriors?
While UCLA secured the win and that is all that truly matters, they certainly did not play the cleanest game of football against the Rainbow Warriors. They issues for UCLA really started along the offensive line, particularly in the rush blocking department. The Bruins protected their quarterback Ethan Garbers pretty well, allowing just one sack, but could not get anything going on the ground.
The top rusher for the Bruins was Garbers, who had seven carries for 47-yards, and the next closest rusher had just 13-yards. The run game was non existent for the Bruins and the line provided no chance for the team to really get started on the ground. However, it was not much prettier through the air either as UCLA truly struggled to move the ball.
The UCLA football team failed to score any points in the first half, and also failed to drive more than 28-yards down the field in the first half in five of their six drives. The most promising drive went for 68-yards total before being stopped dead by an interception from Garbers. Garbers also finished out the second half with an embarrassing interception on his own six yard line that luckily was not returned for a score.
The UCLA football team both needs to block for Garbers and the running backs while also providing Garbers with a chance to win. The quarterback threw up a terrible interception to end the half in order to avoid allowing a safety, which almost turned into seven points instead of two. Garbers needs to calm down and truly lead the Bruins offense, but that cannot happen until they play like a cohesive unit.
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