UCLA struggles in loss to Indiana in first Big Ten game

Wide receiver Ke’Shawn Williams #5 of the Indiana Hoosiers dives for the touchdown against defensive back Joshua Swift #36 of the UCLA Bruins in the second half of a NCAA Football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/ SCNG)

UPDATED: September 16, 2024 at 3:33 p.m.

Head coach DeShaun Foster of the UCLA Bruins walks of the field after Indiana Hoosiers defeated the UCLA Bruins 42-13 to win a NCAA Football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/ SCNG)

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PASADENA — Saturday night was supposed to be a showcase game for UCLA.

It was the Bruins’ first game in the Big Ten, a nationally televised, prime-time game at the Rose Bowl.

Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke and the Hoosiers spoiled the party, handing the Bruins a 42-13 loss.

The Bruins could not recover from a lackluster first half in which the Hoosiers raced to a 21-0 lead and suffered their worst loss in a home opener since being shut out 35-0 by Stanford in 2010.

“That’s not the standard that we’re looking for,” said UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster, whose team rallied for a 16-13 win at Hawaii on Aug. 31. “We’ve got to improve and we’ve got to learn from this and we just can’t make any excuses. Guys just didn’t come out and we didn’t play the way that we would like to play and I’m just glad that I had a few guys out there still fighting toward the end.”

Rourke completed 25 of 33 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns and the Hoosiers (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) added 123 yards on the ground.

UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers was 14-for-23 passing with no touchdowns and one interception.

Garbers narrowly avoided a sack and scrambled for 20 yards and a first down to help UCLA (1-1, 0-1) end the first half on a high note. TJ Harden punched the ball in from 1 yard out for the first and only Bruins touchdown of the night. The last time Garbers rushed for 20 yards on one carry was against Boise State in the 2023 LA Bowl.

“They were playing cover zero right there on that play and I was dropping back and I think one of the linebackers got free,” Garbers said. “I just kind of turned around and there’s space in front of me and so I just took off.”

The energy continued on the other side of halftime. Garbers recovered his own fumble while rushing on a quarterback keeper but was set back 5 yards in the process. UCLA got the yards back and then some when Indiana’s CJ West was ejected on a targeting penalty and the Bruins advanced 15 yards.

Harden hurdled an Indiana defender for a first down and a 24-yard gain after the penalty as the Bruins went on a nine-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 28-yard field goal by Mateen Bhaghani.

Bhaghani added a 34-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to bring the score to 28-13.

Harden was the primary ball carrier for UCLA on Saturday evening and finished the game with 48 yards on 12 carries. Still, the Bruins were held to 96 total rushing yards – 49 in the second half.

“Our running game was really good, especially in the second half,” Garbers said. “We seemed to move the ball pretty well that way. Indiana’s defense, they did a really good job of containing us but at the end of the day, it comes down to us. We didn’t execute out there like we need to and like we should.”

The game featured a matchup of first-year coaches in Indiana’s Curt Cignetti and UCLA’s Foster, both in their first Big Ten conference matchup.

Indiana took control early.

Trailing 7-0, Garbers fumbled with 8:21 on the clock in the first quarter after what appeared to be a miscommunication between the quarterback and Harden.

“I was going to throw a bubble screen to the field and I think it might have fell out,” Garbers said. “It might have hit TJ. I’m not sure what happened. Another self-inflicted wound that just can’t happen.”

Indiana recovered and quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw his second touchdown of the game, this one a 14-yard pass to Ke’Shawn Williams.

Rourke’s first touchdown was a 3-yard pass to Miles Cross. The pair also teamed up for another 3-yard touchdown with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter.

“We were just a little inefficient on defense,” linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo said. “I thought we were good on first and second down. When third down came, we needed to play (better). But like I said, we learned from it.”

Three Hoosier receivers ended the game with 50 or more receiving yards in Cross, Sarratt and Omar Cooper, Jr.

Indiana added two touchdowns in the final eight minutes of the game. Cooper, Jr. hauled in a 23-yard pass from Rourke and Elijah Green scored on a 14-yard rush.

UCLA cornerback Kanye Clark, a former walk-on, left the game in the third quarter due to an apparent injury suffered on a kick return. He was helped off the field and eventually left on a trainer’s cart with a brace that covered his left leg.

UCLA next travels to No. 16 LSU (2-1) on Sept. 21. The kickoff time has yet to be announced.

Originally Published: September 14, 2024 at 8:17 p.m.