UCLA Football gets ready to take on the highly ranked Oregon Ducks

The UCLA Bruins return home on Saturday to take on the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in a Big Ten Conference game. The Ducks are ranked No. 7 in the nation in the Coaches poll and No. 8 in the nation in the AP poll.

The Bruins returned home from Baton Rouge, Louisiana after losing to the LSU Tigers, 34-17. The LSU Bayou Bengals are currently ranked No. 14 in the AP poll. The Bruins took an early 10-7 lead after the first quarter and were tied at halftime 17-17. The Bruins played with a lot of energy and confidence in the first half.

UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers delivered in the first half by tossing a 20-yard scoring pass to tight end Jack Pedersen, a former four-star recruit from Vista Murrietta, and threw a second touchdown pass to wide receiver Logan Loya, a former four-star recruit from St. John Bosco. Garbers ended up throwing for 281 yards but was sacked five times by the LSU defense.

The Bayou Bengals took control in the second half, outscoring the Bruins 17-0. LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completed 32 of 44 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns in the game, while his tight end Mason Taylor caught 8 passes for 77 yards and was frequently wide-open.

The Bruins are struggling on both sides of the ball. They have not been able to run the football through three games. They are ranked 131st out of 133 FBS football teams in rushing yardage per game and are ranked 125th in rushing yardage per carry at 2.60 yards per carry.

The Bruins are ranked 111th in sack percentage allowed. The offensive pressure is being put on Garbers to win games without a running attack and an offensive line that can protect him in the pocket.

Defensively, UCLA have not had a sack or a turnover in the past two games against Indiana and LSU. The Bruins are ranked 127th in passing yards allowed per game at 295.3.

The game against Oregon on Saturday Night, September 28, will start at 8:00 pm at the Rose Bowl. It will be televised nationally on the FOX network. Bruin fans cannot be pleased with the starting time but at least it is nationally televised on an OTA (Over the Air) Network.

The Ducks had the No. 1 recruiting class in the Big Ten conference in 2024. They are loaded with talent, which would explain why the Bruins are 24-point underdogs at home. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel is outstanding if he is not pressured.

Head coach DeShaun Foster and his coaching staff will need to find a way to run the football and create a few turnovers to stay in this game. It does not get any easier next week when the Bruins fly to the east coast to take on another highly ranked team, No. 9 Penn State on Saturday.