This post was updated Sept. 30 at 12:15 a.m.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel tossed a lackluster pass toward wide receiver Tez Johnson with the ball on UCLA’s 6-yard line and 23 seconds remaining in the first half.
Rather than finding Johnson’s safe hands in the end zone, the Bruins’ defensive back – and former Duck – Bryan Addison snagged the ball out of the air and ran it 96 yards for a touchdown.
Addison’s effort would be his team’s only entry into the end zone during the duel.
UCLA football (1-3, 0-2 Big Ten) was soundly defeated by No. 8 Oregon (4-0, 1-0) 34-13 in front of 43,051 fans late Saturday night. The Bruin offense struggled to establish itself throughout the affair, amassing just 172 yards of total offense – a season low – compared to the Ducks’ 433.
“They should be down. Nobody should be excited about what happened,” said coach DeShaun Foster.
After Oregon kicked off the game with a lengthy 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, UCLA responded with a 12-play scoring drive of its own, securing a 27-yard field goal that brought the game to 7-3.
The Bruins’ offense would go silent for the remainder of the half, amassing negative eight yards over four drives while the Ducks maintained their rhythm to enlarge their lead to 25.
After scoring what was its 14th straight drive on the season, Oregon’s offense appeared to lose a lot of its momentum following Addison’s interception, evidenced by a six-point second half.
“I think my defense played pretty well tonight going against a high-powered offense like we did,” Foster said. “We didn’t really execute the way we wanted to offensively to help our defense out.”
UCLA’s offense couldn’t capitalize on opportunities gifted by its defense, with its lone score of the second half being sophomore kicker Mateen Bhaghani’s 54-yard field goal – the longest kick in program history since 2015.
Redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers, who went 12-for-20 on the night with 118 yards and two interceptions, was routinely stifled in the pocket and orchestrated a zero-touchdown affair for UCLA’s offense.
The Bruins’ signal-caller succumbed to four sacks before visibly limping off the field in the fourth quarter with an apparent injury to his right ankle.
“As the leader of the offensive line, we need to figure this out,” said redshirt senior offensive lineman Josh Carlin. “We need to keep him (Garbers) up. We failed at that miserably. We got to start taking pride and not let him get hurt.”
Second-string quarterback – redshirt sophomore Justyn Martin – donned the blue and gold for the second time this season and amassed just seven yards on one completion.
While T.J. Harden set the Bruins’ highest individual rushing total on the season, the junior running back’s 53 yards failed to compensate for the team’s offensive struggles. The Bruins managed just 47 rushing yards, lowering their season average to 57, second-worst in the nation.
For the third consecutive contest, the Bruin defense allowed an opposing quarterback to throw three or more touchdowns. With plenty of time in the pocket, Gabriel completed 76% of his passes and amassed 280 yards with the interception to Addison his only major blemish.
The UCLA pass rush struggled to apply consistent pressure on Gabriel throughout the game as the Bruins’ last sack was in their season opener – nearly a month ago.
“You never know when it’s going to be over,” said redshirt junior linebacker Carson Schwesinger. “Every play you have, you want to play like it’s your last. Every day you have, you want to work like you may not have another day.”
