UCLA blown out by Washington as Josh Rosen suffers injury

This post was updated Oct. 29 at 1:56 p.m.

SEATTLE—UCLA football lost more than just a game Saturday.

Josh Rosen did not come out with the Bruins’ offense for the third drive of the second quarter. The junior quarterback went into the locker room after training staff dressed a wound on his bleeding finger, with his team trailing 27-9.

UCLA (4-4, 2-3 Pac-12) went on to lose to No. 12 Washington (7-1, 4-1) 44-23.

Prior to leaving the game, Rosen was 12-of-21 on completions with 93 yards and one touchdown. He had been sacked four times for a loss of 30 yards.

Coach Jim Mora said that he and the medical staff agreed that it was best to keep Rosen out, and that they would continue to evaluate the quarterback before making a decision of how to progress.

“He took some hits and he’s beat up,” Mora said. “It’s multiple things going on.”

Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Feldman reported Sunday morning that Rosen’s hand is “OK,” but that UCLA will monitor it throughout the upcoming week.

Redshirt freshman Devon Modster finished the game for Rosen and went 7-of-12 with 77 yards and a touchdown.

The Bruins went up 3-0 on a first-quarter field goal, but they wouldn’t lead again.

Washington’s rushing attack combined for five touchdowns and 333 yards – with standout running back Myles Gaskin accounting for 169 of them. The Bruins continued to struggle to stop big plays, with the Huskies coming up with three runs of over 30 yards.

“They ran power, they ran inside zone, outside zone, they just committed to the run,” Mora said.

“We made some really good plays and we missed tackles. That was the problem. Guys were fit up, we just missed tackles. It was nothing schematically at all.”

An 82-yard kickoff return in the second quarter also swung momentum. A UCLA touchdown brought the Bruins within one point of Washington, in which redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Wilson snagged an 8-yard pass across the middle from Rosen at the goal line.

Sophomore kicker JJ Molson would miss the extra point, and the big return came on the next play and led to a Washington touchdown – the start of 27 unanswered points by the Huskies.

“Yeah, you miss an extra point, you give up a couple of returns,” Mora said. “We were playing with our backs against the wall on defense there quite often and that can catch up to you, especially when you’re down.”

Modster eventually answered by leading an 11-play, 81-yard scoring drive on which he completed six of his seven passes for 72 yards, including a four-yard touchdown to senior wideout Darren Andrews. Modster finished the day 7-of-12 with 77 yards.

The backup quarterback found out he was entering the game just moments before his first snap.

“That whole one-play-away mentality sounds good, but all of a sudden, it hits and it was time for him to go in,” said offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch. “The first time you go in, you concentrate on getting the snap. The second play, you concentrate on making sure it’s a clean handoff. And then as the game progresses … I think then your focus is on, ‘Okay, I can do this. I’ve done this.’”

UCLA’s running backs combined for just 72yards on the afternoon, with junior Soso Jamabo rushing for 28 yards on nine carries to lead the unit.

“We’ve been running the ball lately and this is one of the better run defenses in America,” Mora said. “They’re gigantic inside and they’re physical and they’re fast.”

Late in the fourth quarter, redshirt freshman defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa added a touchdown on a 51-yard fumble recovery. It would be the last score of the game.

“I just picked it up and I just ran as fast as I could,” Odighizuwa said. “I don’t even really remember it. I just ran. People said I’ve got to work on ball security.”