This post was updated Oct. 13 at 10:11 p.m.

UCLA football (1-5, 0-4 Big Ten) was downed 21-17 by Minnesota (4-3, 2-2) on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Contributor Matthew Niiya gives his five main takeaways from the Bruins’ contest against the Golden Gophers.

Jekyll and Hyde

UCLA held a 10-0 advantage after the first half.

But midway through the third quarter, it found itself in a four-point hole.

Saturday’s contest against the Golden Gophers was another demonstration of the Bruins’ inability to put two halves of winning football together. UCLA blanked Minnesota through the first two quarters of play, and by no means was it under fluky circumstances.

The Golden Gophers produced just 84 yards of total offense across five first-half possessions – resulting in a missed 43-yard field goal and four punts.

This trend, however, would not hold.

The Minnesota defense forced a quick three-and-out to open up the second half and struck paydirt on the ensuing drive. And two plays later, redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers handed the ball right back.

Aided by a pair of penalties, the Golden Gophers capitalized on the turnover – punching the football in for their second touchdown of the frame.

The Bruins eventually regained the lead with a fourth-quarter score, but collapsed short of the finish line after yielding a touchdown with 27 seconds left on the clock.

Whether it’s due to a lack of depth, inconsistency or poor halftime adjustments, UCLA needs to figure out its second-half struggles if it wants to get back in the win column.

Mental mishaps

Players and coaches need to be most mentally prepared for the final two minutes of the game – particularly in one with minuscule margins.

And Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck – an oft-named candidate to replace former UCLA coach Chip Kelly – and his squad outplayed the Bruins in crunch time.

Once in the red zone, the Golden Gophers managed to run down the clock inside of one minute remaining, while the Bruins held their trio of timeouts for a potential final drive.

However, a delay of game penalty on redshirt senior defensive lineman Siale Taupaki – for laying on a Minnesota running back in an attempt to waste time – gifted his foes a free five yards.

Foster then elected to burn a timeout with the clock stopped to reorganize his defense. Minnesota cashed in a go-ahead touchdown with 27 seconds to play and two timeouts remaining for UCLA.

An illegal forward pass beyond the line of scrimmage from Garbers all but squashed any hopes for a comeback as it forced UCLA to use its second timeout to avoid a 10-second run-off.

Though mental mistakes can be expected with a struggling team and first-time head coach, in this case, it cost the squad a win.

Garbers-Sturdivant connection

2024 has not been an easy year for J.Michael Sturdivant.

The redshirt junior wide receiver had not clicked with either of the quarterbacks – until Saturday.

After much turmoil under center in 2023, expectations for the Garbers-Sturdivant duo were high following a full camp together. But that featured connection has struggled, as has nearly all of the offense.

Sturdivant only recorded five catches coming into the matchup with Minnesota – being held catchless thrice and without a target against Penn State.

Against the Golden Gophers, however, he broke through.

Garbers and Sturdivant linked up seven times for 107 yards – highlighted by a 42-yard touchdown strike that gave the Bruins a short-lived fourth-quarter lead.

A catch on the ill-fated final drive pushed him over the century mark for the first time since the 2023 LA Bowl.

Trouble in the trenches

Though the air game saw somewhat of a revival, the Bruins’ ground attack was still halted.

Few lanes opened up against Minnesota’s front four, as it essentially took the running game out of the equation for UCLA. The trio of running backs – junior T.J. Harden and redshirt seniors Jalen Berger and Keegan Jones – trudged along for just 36 yards on 18 carries.

UCLA even implemented new strategies to get the run game going, bringing in redshirt freshman Tavake Tuikolovatu as an extra offensive lineman on several occasions.

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Alani Makihele was even brought in as a fullback on the play where Jones was able to punch in a score from the one-yard line – just the team’s second rushing touchdown of the season.

On the campaign, the Bruins are still averaging just 59.5 rushing yards per game and 2.4 yards per carry – both ranking second-worst in the nation.

The lack of a balanced air and ground attack has plagued UCLA and is a major contributor to the team’s five-game losing streak.

Welcome to the Big Ten, Los Angeles

Just one week ago, Minnesota knocked off then-No. 11 USC – breaking a deadlock with a rushing touchdown from quarterback Max Brosmer in the final minute of regulation.

Defensive back Koi Perich then downed the Trojans with an endzone interception in the closing seconds.

This Saturday, however, it was the other Los Angeles school that fell victim to the Golden Gophers – and in nearly identical fashion.

Brosmer found running back Darius Taylor out of the backfield for a four-yard score that gave Minnesota the advantage with under a minute on the clock. And it was once again Perich who sealed the Bruins’ fate with an interception in the end zone.

The two LA schools, who defected from the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, are now a combined 1-7 in their new conference – a far cry from the success they hoped to have in their inaugural campaigns.