University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Minnesota
UCLA Football Edged by Minnesota, 21-17
October 12, 2024 | Football
PASADENA, Calif. โ The UCLA football team lost to Minnesota, 21-17, in a Big Ten Conference game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday evening.
ย
Minnesota (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) scored the game-winning touchdown against UCLA (1-5, 0-4 Big Ten) with 27 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Max Brosmer threw a five-yard touchdown pass to running back Darius Taylor on a third-and-goal situation from UCLA's 5-yard line. The Golden Gophers drove 61 yards on a seven-play drive that elapsed 1:53.
ย
Saturday night's game featured multiple lead changes, as the Bruins claimed a 10-0 advantage by halftime. Minnesota fought back, scoring a pair of touchdowns in a four-minute span midway through the third quarter to take a 14-10 lead.
ย
The Bruins jumped back ahead, 17-14, midway through the fourth quarter after UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers fired a 42-yard touchdown strike to J.Michael Sturdivant. Garbers' touchdown pass in the final quarter marked the longest pass play of the game for either team.
.@ethan_garbers3 ?? Sturdivant for the lead ??
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) October 13, 2024
??: @BigTenNetwork
??: https://t.co/MVqgB0hqsS#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/isWPbSIFmM
ย
Minnesota trailed 17-14 with under three minutes to play and punted the ball on a fourth-down situation from near midfield, pinning the Bruins on their own 3-yard line at the 2:44 mark. UCLA rushed the ball twice and attempted a third-down pass, before punting the ball back to Minnesota with 2:20 left in regulation.
ย
Minnesota scored its game-winning touchdown in less than two minutes, and the Bruins received the ball back at the 27-second mark. The Bruins raced up the field, landing at Minnesota's 49-yard line for a last-second Hail Mary play. Garbers' pass toward the end zone was intercepted at the goal line by Minnesota's Koi Perich, who registered his second interception of the game.
ย
Garbers completed 25 of 36 passes, totaling 293 yards through the air. He threw one touchdown pass and had three passes intercepted.
ย
Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer finished the game having completed 26 of 37 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
ย
Trailing UCLA by a 10-7 margin, Minnesota took a 14-10 lead with 7:16 to play in the third quarter. The Golden Gophers scored a touchdown on a six-play, 38-yard drive as Taylor punched in the ball on a two-yard carry.
ย
Taylor's rushing touchdown took place less than four minutes after Minnesota scored its first touchdown. The Golden Gophers got on the board with a touchdown at the 10:33 mark in the third quarter, cutting UCLA's cushion to 10-7. The Golden Gophers' five-play, 46-yard drive concluded with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brosmer to Elijah Spencer.
ย
The Bruins led Minnesota at halftime, 10-0. UCLA scored a touchdown in the first quarter on its first offensive drive and added a 34-yard field goal by Mateen Bhaghani as time expired to close the second quarter.
ย
UCLA's 10-play touchdown drive in the first quarter put the Bruins ahead, 7-0. Facing a third-and-7 situation from Minnesota's 16-yard line, Garbers fired a 14-yard pass to Logan Loya for a first down. Three plays later, running back Keegan Jones took a direct snap and rushed for one yard into the end zone.
ย
The Bruins will return to action at Rutgers on Saturday, Oct. 19. Game time at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, N.J., is scheduled for 9 a.m. PT (12 p.m. ET). UCLA's game at Rutgers will be nationally televised on FS1.
ย
