UCLA holds off Fresno State to finish season with a win

It was a chance for UCLA to bid farewell to its seniors while making one final statement.

Whew!

After coming out flatter than their coach’s opening remarks at Big Ten media day, the Bruins regrouped and made the necessary plays to put a happy spin on the end of their season.

It took Fresno State’s onside kick trickling out of bounds in the final minute for UCLA to exhale during a 20-13 victory Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl.

In his final college game, Bruins senior quarterback Ethan Garbers made the decisive play. Garbers threw a two-yard touchdown pass over the middle to J. Michael Sturdivant with 1:38, celebrating with a fist pump as his team took a 20-10 lead.

“They wanted me to, you know, if it wasn’t open to kind of take a sack or throw it away,� Garbers said of his coaches, “but nah, I said, ‘Screw that, let’s win this game’ and J. Mike made a great play on the ball.�

Fresno State drove for a quick field goal but couldn’t complete the comeback after its attempt to recover the onside kick failed.

It was a feel-good ending to a down-and-up season that included a 1-5 start and a 4-2 finish for the Bruins (5-7). It was also the end of Fresno State’s four-game winning streak in the series. UCLA beat the Bulldogs for the first time since 2000, when Bruins coach DeShaun Foster was the team’s star running back.

This win was symbolic of Foster’s first season as the head coach at his alma mater, the Bruins persevering through one setback after another.

“We were kind of getting in our own way in that first half,� Foster said, “so it was just, more or less, we gotta get out there and execute. Just stop doing things that’s gonna stop drives, put us behind the chains.�

Shaking off an erratic first half, Garbers completed 26 of 40 passes for 289 yards and one touchdown while also running for a critical first down late in the game. Tight end Moliki Matavao was his favorite target, making eight catches for 120 yards.

“Started off slow,� Matavao said, “but coming after halftime, came out and just, you know, beat that ass, really.�

In what might have been his final game as a Bruin, linebacker Carson Schwesinger blocked a punt and tallied 15 tackles, the ninth time this season the Butkus Award finalist has reached double digits in that category.

After taking a 13-10 lead early in the third quarter on T.J. Harden’s five-yard touchdown run up the middle, the Bruins were in position to take control on their next possession.

“He’s out there balling, every play is 100%,� fellow UCLA linebacker Kain Medrano said. “I mean, all I gotta say is, turn the tape on you and you should be able to see who’s going to win that award.�

On fourth and one at Fresno State’s nine-yard line, UCLA offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy called for a pass to Leo Kemp and the seldom-used fullback was wide open. But Kemp dropped the pass from Garbers, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs on a turnover on downs.

UCLA fans might have felt like visitors in their own stadium at the start of halftime when loud “Fresno State!� chants serenaded the Bulldogs on their way into the locker room.

Dylan Lynch’s 48-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter had just given Fresno State a 10-6 lead.

Meanwhile, it was mostly a mishmash of mistakes, penalties and missed opportunities for the Bruins in the game’s early going.

UCLA’s offense generated a first and goal at the nine on one drive and a first and 10 at the Fresno State 12-yard line on another — and wound up with just a pair of Mateen Bhaghani field goals. Bhaghani, a sophomore transfer from California who finished the season making 20 of 24 field-goal attempts, could make a compelling case for the Red Sanders Award that goes to the team’s most valuable player.

For a while the Bruins tallied nearly as many penalties as plays.

Keegan Jones’ 34-yard kickoff return to start the game was wiped out by holding on Ty Lee. Matavao, right tackle Garrett DiGiorgio and left tackle Yutaka Mahe each were called for a false start on UCLA’s opening drive.

By the time Bruins linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo was called for a face mask on Fresno State’s first offensive play, 10 plays had been run and UCLA had been called for five penalties.

It only got worse when Schwesinger blocked a punt that Fresno State (6-6) recovered and was awarded a first down after a face mask penalty on Anthony Adkins. The Bulldogs eventually scored on the drive when quarterback Mikey Keene fired a seven-yard touchdown pass that a leaping Raylen Sharpe grabbed in the back of the end zone.

By halftime, UCLA had been called for all seven of the game’s penalties — and that didn’t count a defensive holding penalty that was declined.

None of it mattered a few hours later, the Bruins lingering on the field with a smile for farewell photos.

“Getting the win in your last game in the Rose Bowl, it’s special,� Garbers said. “I had a lot of great memories here, happy that I got to share with all these guys.�