By Alex A. Gonzalez
Pasadena — The UCLA Bruins took their two-game winning streak into Friday night’s game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Spieker Field at the Rose Bowl and made it three in a row after the Bruins out-rushed the Hawkeyes in their 20-17 win. The victory was UCLA’s first of the season at the Rose Bowl.
As an offense, UCLA’s ground game bested Iowa’s, who leads the Big 10, 211-80. The feat was compiled by a running back committee led by Junior running back TJ Harden, who ended the game with 131 yards on 20 carries. Backup tailbacks Keegan Jones and Jalen Berger also added 68 yards between the two.
“We played a good game. We came out and executed,” said Bruin head coach DeShaun Foster. “Offensively, we were able to run the ball, had a few turnovers, but we can work on those. It was a really good team we were playing against, so it was good that we were able to protect our home field.”
Although penalties and turnovers slowed down the Bruins, they still found a way to come back from being down 10-0 late in the first quarter to score 17 straight points in the second quarter.
Iowa running back and Big 10 leader in rushing, Kaleb Johnson, got the game started when he capped the four-play drive with his conference-leading 20th rushing touchdown of the night. The play that set up the touchdown came from quarterback Brendan Sullivan when he connected with Jacob Gil on a pass play that covered 32 yards.
Then, the defense for Iowa halted UCLA from responding when Ethan Garbers had his pass intercepted by Quinn Schulte in the endzone on their ensuing drive with 6:55 remaining in the opening frame.
The Bruin turnover eventually turned into three points as the Hawkeyes got Drew Stevens to convert on his 24-yard field goal, giving his team an early 10-0 lead before the end of the quarter.
As the second quarter started, the Bruins’ ground game took control of the line of scrimmage and began to create chunk plays on the ground. The trio of Harden, Jones, and Berger all were able to find success on the ground as they were able to drive UCLA down the field to set them up for their first points of the game.
Although the ground game started to lose its momentum once they got into Iowa territory, kicker Matee Bhaghani booted and converted a 57-yard field goal with 11:41 in the second quarter, making the score 10-7. The field goal was the second longest made in school history.
The made-field goal gave UCLA’s defense a jolt because Carson Schwesinger picked off Brendan Sullivan’s pass on the first play for Iowa, giving the offense a short field to work 13 seconds after the made-field goal.
With the ball placed on Iowa’s 45-yard line, the Bruins only needed six plays to march down the field to tie the ball game up at 10. Thanks to the ground game, Harden and Berger split carries that set up Garbers’ 2-yard touchdown pass to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala.
Iowa then was able to respond by establishing the ground game themselves but that was less successful when Sullivan optioned to keep the ball and run for a first down only to have the ball stripped from him by Kain Medrano with 7:14 left in the second quarter.
Nothing was made of the turnover by UCLA when Garbers tried scrambling for a touchdown but then dropped the ball into the endzone, and Iowa then recovered for a touchback.
After a quick three-and-out by the Bruin defense, the offense did not repeat what it did on their last possession, as they were able to take the lead with less than a minute remaining in the first half.
Garbers dropped back to pass from the Iowa 29 and threw a dart to Logan Loya, who bounced off his defender and fell into the endzone for the score.
With both teams holding each other scoreless in the third quarter, the Hawkeyes tied the game up at 17 when Kamari Moulton reached paydirt from a yard out with 11:27 left in regulation.
The tie game did not last long, as the Bruins were able to take the lead back on their next possession.
The final scoring drive for the Bruins compiled 66 yards over 13 plays that took almost seven minutes off the game clock. The two key plays on the drive came from both Harden and Garbers, who set up the game-winning field goal.
On third down and 1 yard to go, Harden took the handoff from Garbers and racked up 16 yards on the play, extending the drive. Then, five plays later, Garbers connected with Kwazi Gilmer for 20 yards, which put the Bruins into scoring territory.
The drive was then capped by Bhaghani, who converted a 27-yard field with 4:49 left in the fourth.
Iowa tried to punch back, but Sullivan, who was starting in place of Cade Mcnamara, who sat out this game with a concussion, was sidelined due to an apparent leg injury that he suffered earlier in the game. Third-string quarterback Jackson Stratton could not find anything downfield, and Johnson was stuffed at the line of scrimmage every time he touched the ball.
Iowa was forced to punt, and the Bruins got one first down thanks to Harden’s 14-yard run and then took a knee to end the game at 20-17.
“It’s not about how you start. It’s about how you finish,” said Garbers post-game. We’re on a nice little win streak right now. Hopefully, we will keep that going. Coach said it to us after the game. We know how to win; we have that taste in our mouth, and it’s up to us to go out there and execute.”
Go Bruins! That was a tough team that won last night.