PASADENA, Calif. – The UCLA football team lost to Minnesota, 21-17, in a Big Ten Conference game at the Rose Bowl on Saturday evening.
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.
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.
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
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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.
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.
Garbers completed 25 of 36 passes, totaling 293 yards through the air. He threw one touchdown pass and had three passes intercepted.
Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer finished the game having completed 26 of 37 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.