UCLA misses chance to turn season narrative around, loses to LSU

As they ran through a tunnel to the locker room at halftime, the UCLA players were serenaded in a nearby corner of Tiger Stadium by a group of fans chanting the school's four-letter name.

The Bruins finally gave cause for celebration after largely lackluster performances in their first two games by countering every shot thrown by Louisiana State and earning a surprising tie.

Most of the progress was due to quarterback Ethan Garbers, who fended off heavy pressure, fired two touchdown passes and gave the Bruins offense some much-needed momentum.

But when faced with the chance to pull off a win that would have reversed the early history of the DeShaun Foster era, the Bruins' offense went quiet and their defense faltered in the second half of a 34-17 loss to the 16th-ranked Tigers in front of 100,315 mostly relieved fans.

Any chance of a comeback ended with 9 minutes, 25 seconds left when Garbers fired a pass that was intercepted by Tigers safety Jardin Gilbert at the Bruins 45-yard line.

After showing so much potential on offense and pulling to a 17-17 halftime tie, UCLA (1-2) held a clean sheet for the rest of the game. The Bruins' defense also struggled in the final two quarters as the Tigers (3-1) outscored them 17-0.

LSU took the lead midway through the third quarter with some help from the Bruins. One play after UCLA cornerback Jaylin Davies was whistled for pass interference in the end zone, Tigers running back Josh Williams charged forward and scored on a two-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up 24-17. LSU's Caden Durham later added a 35-yard catch-and-run in which he evaded a tackle by UCLA's Carson Schwesinger to give the Tigers a two-touchdown lead.

About an hour earlier, the momentum for the Bruins had been so great.

On his team's final drive of the first half, Garbers was under a lot of pressure and, just as he was taking a heavy hit, he threw a pass to slot receiver Logan Loya for an 11-yard touchdown to tie the score at 17-17.

Earlier, Garbers had beaten tight end Jack Pedersen with a 20-yard touchdown pass over the middle to tie the game. When kicker Mateen Bhaghani made a 47-yard field goal late in the first quarter, the Bruins took the lead for the first time this season.

UCLA responded to every early setback, including four sacks by the Tigers and a holding call on left tackle Reuben Unije that negated a Garbers touchdown pass before halftime. No matter. Garbers threw another two plays later.

At some point the Bruins ran out of answers.