MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

Pasadena – For the fourth time in school history, and the first since the 1978 season, the UCLA Bruins hosted Big Ten opponent, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Saturday night at Spieker Field at the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Unlike the previous three matchups between the schools, none will come close to what happened in front of the 42,012 rambunctious fans on the cool October night. With 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Gopher quarterback Max Brosmer dropped back to pass and connected with Darius Taylor, who then took it into the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown, sealing Minnesota’s 21-17 win. 

UCLA (1-5, 0-4 Big Ten) held a 10-0 lead after the first half but watched it disappear within the first eight minutes of the third quarter. 

The Gophers (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) were able to score on their first possession of the second half when Brosmer completed his pass to wideout Elijah Spencer for the 12-yard score. The five-play, 46-yard drive took 2:41 off the clock and put them within three points of the Bruins. 

Then Minnesota’s defense joined in, forcing the first turnover of the second half when Koi Perich picked off Ethan Garbers’ pass two plays into the Bruins’ series. 

The Gophers were able to turn around and make quick work of the possession to take the lead for the time of the night. Taylor, who carried the ball three times on the dive ball and hauled in a reception, led the way for his team’s second touchdown of the night. 

With 7:20 remaining in the third quarter, Taylor took the handoff and rushed up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown. The score silenced UCLA’s crowd and gave Minnesota the lead for the first time of the night, 14-10. 

Following the score, the two teams made it difficult to swing momentum to either side as they both traded punts heading into the final period.

It was not until the 6:54 mark of the fourth that UCLA regained the lead. Quarterback Ethan Garbers dropped back to pass to find J.Michael Sturdivant for the 42-yard TD pass.  ​​

UCLA’s defense forced the Gophers to punt on their ensuing drive, but their offense could not find a way to increase their slim lead before the two-minute warning, so they punted the ball back to Minnesota.  

With 2:20 left in regulation, Minnesota had one more opportunity to make it a clean sweep of beating both Southern California schools in the 2024 campaign. The Gophers defeated the University of Southern California last Saturday night 24-17. 

On the first play of the drive, Brosmer’s 13-yard pass to Jameson Geers started the Gophers’ comeback, which led them into the 2-minute warning. Brosmer then completed his second pass of the drive when he found Daniel Jackson, who was able to slip behind the defense for a 27-yard gain. 

Brosmer then completed three more consecutive passes before he ended the drive when he hooked up with Taylor for the go-ahead touchdown. On the third and fourth plays, from the Bruin 4-yard line, Brosmer dropped back to pass to his left to find Taylor, who slipped away from the Bruin defense and walked into the endzone untouched. 

It was a tale of two halves for the Bruins as they faced any challenge from the Golden Gophers. 

“The attention to detail wasn’t there. The discipline that we need to play in the second half was just wasn’t there at all,” said Head Coach DeShaun Foster. “We’re a one half team right now and I have to find a way to get these guys to come out and approach the second half like we did in the first half. 

In the first quarter, Keegan Jones capped a 10-play, 54-yard drive when he took the direct snap and plowed his way from the Minnesota one-yard line and plowed his way into the endzone. 

Then, just as the final whistle blew before the halftime break, UCLA added three points to the score when Mateen Bhaghani successfully converted his 34-yard field goal attempt. 

With the win, Minnesota heads into its bye week one game above .500. It will host the University of Maryland on October 26. 

UCLA will look to end its five-game losing streak next week when they travel to the University of Rutgers.