UCLA Football Falls at No. 16 LSU, 34-17

BATON ROUGE, La. – The UCLA football team lost at No. 16 LSU, 34-17, before a crowd of 100,315 at Tiger Stadium in a nationally-televised non-conference showdown.

 

In the second all-time matchup between UCLA (1-2) and LSU, the host Tigers (3-1) outscored the Bruins by a 17-0 margin in the second half. UCLA was playing its first-ever game in the state of Louisiana and bounced back from a 17-10 second quarter deficit to head into halftime tied, 17-17.

“The scoreboard is still the bottom line, but the fact that we are able to execute like I have seen us do in practice, it just feels good,” said UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster. “It’s a two-half game and it’s four quarters, and we showed up for two of them. When you are playing against a good team like that, you have to show up for all four.”

 

Bruins’ quarterback Ethan Garbers finished Saturday’s contest having completed 22 of 36 passes for 281 yards, including two touchdowns and one interception.

 

UCLA’s Logan Loya and Rico Flores Jr. each totaled four receptions, as Loya finished with a team-leading 46 reception yards (and one touchdown).

 

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completed 32 of 43 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns. LSU’s Mason Taylor caught a team-leading eight passes for 77 yards.

 

The Tigers pushed ahead in the second half, snapping a 17-17 halftime deadlock with a 2-yard touchdown rush from Josh Williams at the 6:11 mark in the third quarter. LSU added to its second-half cushion early in the fourth quarter, as an 11-play and 92-yard drive ended with a 35-yard strike from Nussmeier to Caden Durham with 11:15 remaining in the game.

 

LSU added to its margin with Damian Ramos’ second field goal of the day, knocking through a 32-yard attempt with 5:48 to play in the final quarter.

 

With UCLA trailing LSU, 17-10, through the final four minutes of the first half, Garbers connected with Loya for an 11-yard game-tying touchdown with two seconds to play before halftime. Garbers’ second passing touchdown of the day tied the game, 17-17.

 

The first 17 minutes of Saturday’s game featured multiple lead changes. LSU took a 7-0 cushion on its first offensive possession before UCLA secured a 10-7 advantage late in the opening quarter. LSU regained the lead, at 14-10, less than 90 seconds into the second quarter.

 

Trailing 7-0 less than three minutes into the contest, UCLA drove downfield with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Facing a 4th-and-2 situation on LSU’s 33-yard line, Garbers completed a 13-yard reception to T.J. Harden before firing a 20-yard touchdown strike to tight end Jack Pedersen (his first collegiate touchdown reception).

 

The Bruins pushed ahead, 10-7, on a 47-yard field goal by Mateen Bhaghani with 17 seconds left in the first quarter. Bhaghani’s field goal capped a seven-play dive that covered 27 yards.

 

LSU responded with a 45-yard touchdown pass down the sideline from Nussmeier to Kyle Parker on the Tigers’ next offensive series, helping LSU take a 14-10 lead with 13:57 left in the second quarter. The four-play drive by LSU covered 75 yards in 1:20.

 

LSU pushed its margin to 17-10 with a 22-yard field goal from Damian Ramos at the 3:45 mark in the second quarter.

 

The Bruins will return to action against Oregon in a Big Ten Conference matchup on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 8 p.m. (PT) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. UCLA’s home game against the Ducks will be nationally televised on FOX.