BATON ROUGE – It was a tale of two halves in Tigerland.

Evidenced by their 24.5-point underdog designation, the Bruins weren’t expected to be even relatively competitive in Saturday’s game – let alone departing from “Death Valley” far from dismantled.

In a game where UCLA football (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten) was predicted to be pancaked, a revamped offense kept things tight before the team fell 34-17 to No. 16 LSU (3-1, 1-0 SEC) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the Bruins’ second nonconference matchup of 2024. Despite entering a Tiger den teeming with 100,315 fans – and continuously touted one of the most adverse college football atmospheres – the Bruins escaped still intact.

“We came in at halftime and we thought we had a really good chance to win this game, which, I mean, we did,” said redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers. “We got the ball back in the third quarter and we needed to put a drive together, and we just didn’t execute again.” 

Through its first two games of the season, UCLA averaged 290.5 yards of offense. At halftime, the Bruins logged a season-high 206 yards – primarily credited to Garbers’ poise under pressure. 

Despite being sacked five times and frequently forced to scramble, Garbers notched 281 yards and two touchdowns on a 61% completion percentage. The signal-caller’s efforts in Baton Rouge marked his best of the season after recording 409 yards and one touchdown on 61 pass attempts through his first two games of the 2024 campaign.

The Bruins’ first-half offensive success was generated by the distribution of their production. Garbers connected with nine different pass-catchers, with redshirt senior wide receiver Logan Loya taking the majority of the production – notching 46 yards on four receptions after a slow start to the season. 

“You want guys to make plays,” said coach DeShaun Foster. “But anytime you get youngsters making plays also, you know, that’s just adding depth to the team. So when you can add depth, that just means that when other people get in, the drop-off isn’t too far.”

After surrendering 42 points to Indiana in UCLA’s home opener, the biggest question entering Saturday’s duel was how the Bruin defense would handle the explosive Tiger offense – one that ranks 23rd in the nation in passing yards per game, fueled by quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and wide receiver Kyren Lacy. 

While the defensive trenches struggled to stifle Nussmeier – failing to tally a single sack – UCLA’s secondary was exposed, allowing the Tiger offense to record 352 passing yards, 102 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Despite the dominance of the Tiger offense, the linebacker tandem of redshirt senior Kain Medrano and redshirt junior Carson Schwesinger dominated the middle of the field, combining for 19 tackles. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Devin Aupiu notched one tackle for loss while Schwesinger and senior defensive lineman Jay Toia split a tackle for loss. 

“He’s (Medrano) been here since I got here, known him for the past couple years, and he’s obviously been a mentor, as he’s one of the only guy’s playing,” Schwesinger said. “So it’s definitely great to have him out there next to me, someone you can rely on.”

For the second week in a row, penalties and turnovers proved to be the Bruins’ Achilles heel. A strip sack from defensive end Bradyn Swinson gave the Tigers possession and eventually a chip-shot field goal early in the second quarter. 

And later, an interception from Garbers early into the fourth quarter essentially put the game in the Tigers favor, after they went up two scores. By game’s end, UCLA racked up nine penalties for 80 yards, a stark contrast from LSU’s five penalties for 22 yards. 

The most impactful penalty came on a holding call which wiped off Garbers’ one-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Rico Flores Jr., consequently pushing the Bruins 10 yards back. While the Bruins may have rectified their mistake with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Loya, their ongoing lack of discipline – which players have repeatedly attested to – was evident.

“Every phase can improve,” Foster said. “When we can watch this tape and get in there, we’ll see. But like I said, ‘You got to learn from losses,’ so this is a true learning experience.”

Late in the third quarter, on LSU’s 27-yard line, UCLA had a chance to tie the game – but was instead hindered by a personal foul on redshirt junior offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio combined with a 19-yard loss and fumble from Garbers, ultimately leading to a UCLA punt.

A lack of offensive production in the second half coupled with a defense allowing an abundance of chunk plays forecasted the Bruins’ demise. After logging 206 yards in the first half, the Bruins managed a measly 86 yards in the second, which amounted to a scoreless frame. 

UCLA’s defense yielded two 30-plus yard touchdowns – the first on a 45-yard deep ball to wide receiver Kyle Parker and the second on a 35-yard wheel route to running back Caden Durham. Chunk plays allowed the Tigers to take control of the game and stiffen the Bruins’ momentum.

Despite taking a hit, UCLA’s prosperity in the first half – particularly under hostile conditions – will brace it for two upcoming top-10 foes in No. 9 Oregon and No. 10 Penn State.  

“They’re (the players are) going to be ready (for Penn State) because there were 100,000 people and those fans were into the game, especially early,” Foster said. “It’s a learning experience and we’re just going to continue to learn but my team, they fight, so that’s all I can ask for.”