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Washington halts UCLA football’s win streak as Bruins fall 31-19

UCLA football walks off the field after succumbing to a 31-19 loss to Washington on Friday night at Husky Stadium. (Zimo Li/Photo editor)

Football


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Washington31

By Ira Gorawara

Nov. 15, 2024 10:55 p.m.

This post was updated Nov. 17 at 11:25 p.m.

SEATTLE – Jedd Fisch took on an interim gig in Westwood seven years ago – one that spanned two games.

The pair of affairs – Fisch’s first crack at head coaching – came as a reluctant fill-in for Jim Mora, who was axed on his birthday. Fisch did the celebrating for him.

He immediately spearheaded the Bruins to a three-point victory over the Golden Bears to make them bowl eligible.

That brief stint may have given Fisch an accelerated crash course on two things: how to reach a bowl game and how things worked in Westwood.

Because Friday night at Husky Stadium, Washington football (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) outfoxed UCLA (4-6, 3-5) by a score of 31-19. The Huskies ensured their four-year-long home win streak would last another season – and hit the 20-game mark – all while locking in their bowl bid.

“You’ve got to be at your best when your best is needed and that wasn’t the case in the second half,” said coach DeShaun Foster. “We didn’t really execute the way that we wanted to, just continued to shoot ourselves in the foot.”

The Bruins, meanwhile, will now face the uphill battle of securing two wins in as many games to keep their bowl game hopes afloat.

Senior tight end Moliki Matavao runs the ball downfield as a Washington defender attempts to tackle him. Matavao racked up a team-high 68 receiving yards against the Huskies. (Zimo Li/Photo editor)

Coach DeShaun Foster’s ground attack had been in full throttle the past two weeks – barreling through defenses to collect 350 yards against Nebraska and Iowa combined. After last Friday’s 211-yard rushing exhibition, the Bruins may have seen the Huskies’ seemingly shaky rush defense as ripe for the picking.

But Fisch stood back as the Huskies exploited the cracks in the Bruins’ armor. A run game that seemed to be catching fire crumbled, sputtering during what should’ve been a golden opportunity for UCLA.

The Huskies stifled the Bruins on the ground to offer just 52 yards on 33 attempts. Washington sniffed out every gap and closed every hole – so much so that UCLA could barely eclipse two yards per carry. 

“We weren’t executing out there,” said redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers. “It starts with me and it ends with me, I got to do a better job of getting them motivated.”

Fisch’s understanding of UCLA’s tendencies – forged in the fires of his brief Westwood tenure –  may have been the winning blueprint, highlighting the Bruins’ vulnerabilities that plagued the team through the first half of their season. 

In trend with the year, the Bruins succumbed to nine penalties against the Huskies. 

After Garbers was thrown to the turf for a seven-yard loss to open proceedings at Husky Stadium, UCLA got called for its first misstep – when senior tight end Moliki Matavao couldn’t keep his feet in bounds on Garbers’ ensuing pass. 

The tight end’s illegal touch cost the Bruins, halting what could’ve been a promising drive, and supplementing a quick three-and-out to launch Friday’s action.

“I’m not going to make any excuses for us,” Foster said. “We just weren’t at our best and it hurts when you know you can come out and play a little bit better than you did.”

Such a procession of events wouldn’t be forgiven – the Bruins surrendered 47 yards thanks to their continued blunders, the largest of which came off a roughing-the-passer call in the second quarter. 

Redshirt senior defensive back Bryan Addison’s pick and an ensuing 13-yard return through traffic seemed to ignite hope for the Bruins – and a chance to chip away at the Huskies’ advantage. But a yellow flag plunged celebrations as senior linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo negated the heroics due to illegal contact with Husky quarterback Will Rogers. 

Rogers would later be replaced by second-string quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who finished with a touchdown and 67 passing yards on an 88% completion rate – compared to Rogers’ 13-for-21 passing alongside two interceptions. 

“He opened up their offense a little just in terms of being able to run the ball,” said redshirt junior linebacker Carson Schwesinger. “For us as a defense, that’s something we knew coming into the game, and we had to plan for it, and we just weren’t executing how we wanted to when he came in the game.”

With a sub-par run game, Garbers’ continuous fight for survival came amid a patched-together offensive line relying on a fourth-string left tackle. The crumbling fortress in front of Garbers only amplified his desperation, as Washington’s defense breached walls with ease – exemplified by its three sacks through the first half. 

Senior defensive back Devin Kirkwood and redshirt senior linebacker Kain Medrano notched a pick each in the second quarter, but UCLA squandered both chances – turning them into just three points. 

“Those are huge opportunities – that’s what I’m talking about, when you’re not at your best when your best is needed,” Foster said. “We wanted touchdowns and the score showed that we didn’t get that and those field goals ended up catching up to us.”

Foster shepherded his units to reach the end zone with 12 seconds on the game clock. It was a fleeting spark arriving far too late. 

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Ira Gorawara | Sports editor
Gorawara is the 2024-2025 Sports editor on the football, men’s basketball and NIL beats and a Copy contributor. She was previously an assistant Sports editor on the men’s volleyball, men’s tennis, women’s volleyball and rowing beats and a contributor on the men’s volleyball and rowing beats. She is a third-year economics and communication student minoring in professional writing from Hong Kong.
Gorawara is the 2024-2025 Sports editor on the football, men’s basketball and NIL beats and a Copy contributor. She was previously an assistant Sports editor on the men’s volleyball, men’s tennis, women’s volleyball and rowing beats and a contributor on the men’s volleyball and rowing beats. She is a third-year economics and communication student minoring in professional writing from Hong Kong.
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