This post was updated Nov. 17 at 11:31 p.m.

UCLA football (4-6, 3-5 Big Ten) was trampled by Washington (6-5, 4-4) in Seattle, ending the Bruins’ three-game win streak. Assistant Sports editor Kai Dizon gives his five main takeaways from Friday night’s duel.

Deja vu

Coach DeShaun Foster called Friday a story of two halves – a tale many thought the Bruins left in the past.

But everything fell apart in Seattle.

After averaging 27.3 points over their previous three contests, the Bruins managed just 19 at Husky Stadium. Subtract a meaningless garbage time touchdown, and that number’s down to 13.

UCLA couldn’t reliably find the endzone, redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers couldn’t find his wide receivers and the running game couldn’t find open space.

It looked all too familiar to the 1-5 team that seemed to have been making a fool of itself in its introduction to the Big Ten.

The triumvirate of wide receivers – freshman Kwazi Gilmer, redshirt junior J.Michael Sturdivant and redshirt senior Logan Loya – accumulated just 19 yards through the air after combining for 461 over the past four games.

Especially under quarterback Demond Williams Jr. – a freshman – Washington seemingly scored at will. The dual-threat quarterback managed 67 yards on 7-for-8 passing and racked up about as many yards on the ground as UCLA’s junior running back T.J. Harden.

Now, the Bruins’ bowl hopes are left on standby.

Running back to square one

139 against Nebraska.

211 against Iowa.

52 against Washington.

UCLA’s three-headed monster was without one of its heads against the Huskies, but the Bruins may as well have let a headless chicken run around Friday night.

With redshirt senior Jalen Berger out due to injury, the run game was left on Harden and redshirt senior Keegan Jones’ shoulders – which didn’t seem like a horrible set of circumstances given Harden’s 125-yard explosion against the Hawkeyes only a week ago.

But any momentum the Bruins’ ground attack had been building evaporated into the cold Seattle air.

Harden ran for just 33 yards on 13 carries, while Jones garnered just four yards on as many carries for a measly 37 yards from the running backs.

In reality, running backs accumulated more yards through the air than on the ground – all courtesy of Harden with a team-leading 79 receiving yards.

With the run game stuck in the mud, the Bruins opted to prioritize the passing game – with Garbers launching 44 attempts through the air. But with the veteran signal-caller unable to reliably target his deep threats, UCLA’s offense stumbled.

Like swiss cheese

Washington’s defense had gone since Oct. 12 without a sack.

They sacked Garbers six times – a career-high for the Newport Beach, California, local.

Part of the struggle was likely due to the inexperience at left tackle.

With redshirt senior Reuben Unije and redshirt sophomore Niki Prongos ruled out of Friday’s action before the game, redshirt senior Jaylan Jeffers got the start. But Jeffers too went down with injury and responsibility was thrust into the hands of redshirt junior Yutaka Mahe, who was appearing in just his 10th collegiate game.

The protection unit allowed Garbers to get absolutely pummeled, left the run game stagnant and may have been the catalyst for Garbers’ inability to connect deep – he just didn’t have any time.

After allowing five sacks against LSU, the offensive line had been steadily improving – both in preventing sacks and allowing the run game to flourish. But all that progress looked for naught in Seattle.

(Lack of) Discipline

The Bruins were charged with 11 penalties – only nine were accepted, still far greater than the three tagged to the Huskies.

Of the 11, five were false starts on the aforementioned offensive line.

However, the most costly may have been a roughing-the-passer call against senior linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo on a late hit that erased an end zone interception from redshirt senior defensive back Bryan Addison. Washington would score a touchdown on the same drive.

Averaging 7.3 penalties per game, the Bruins rank 109th in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The lack of discipline wasn’t limited to penalties though. The Bruins just couldn’t take care of the football.

Down 7-3 in the red zone, Garbers had the ball swatted from his hand, leading to a turnover and ensuing Washington touchdown drive.

Then in the third, redshirt sophomore tight end Jack Pedersen fumbled just outside the Washington 20-yard line – again leading to a Huskies scoring drive.

Discipline has been the first pillar of Foster’s program all year long, and if they can’t get past it, there will be little room for enthusiasm by season’s end.

There is still hope

UCLA is two games out from bowl contention with two to play – both against middle-of-the-pack teams in USC and Fresno State, who combine for an even 10-10 record.

Despite the lackluster outcome, it truly wasn’t all doom and gloom for UCLA.

Garbers still threw for 267 yards with no interceptions. In fact, the Bruin field general hasn’t sunk below 200 passing yards since Sept. 28 against Oregon and has a completion percentage of 60% or higher in every game besides UCLA’s first against Hawaiʻi.

The tight ends – even with key missteps such as senior Moliki Matavao’s illegal touch in the first quarter and Pedersen’s fumble – still racked up 105 yards. Matavao continues to pace Bruin receivers, now at 371 yards, for a breakout campaign in his final season.

Maybe most importantly, the Bruins were 10-for-18 on third downs – a valuable trend for their postseason push.