UCLA to battle Minnesota Saturday at the Rose Bowl

The last four weeks have been among the worst in UCLA Bruins football history. The Bruins have lost four straight games, by a combined total of 137-54. The latest loss was a 27-11 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium on the Penn State campus last Saturday. The loss dropped UCLA to 1-4 on the season. Penn State improved to 5-0 for the season.

The four losses were all to teams ranked in the top 25. The four teams currently have a combined record of 20-1. This was a very tough schedule for a Bruins team that is rebuilding under new head coach DeShaun Foster. He is going to need a couple of seasons to get his recruits in and to find some immediate help for 2025 through the transfer portal.

In the loss at Penn State, the Bruins started backup quarterback Justyn Martin due to an injury to starter Ethan Garbers. It was the first collegiate career start for Martin, who performed well under the circumstances. Martin is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound quarterback who played his high school football at Inglewood high school.

The former four-star quarterback completed 22 of 30 passes for 167 yards against Penn State, adding a one-yard touchdown toss to wide receiver Logan Loya. The Bruins competed well against the Nittany Lions, which should bode well in future matchups this season. Loya led the Bruins receivers with six receptions for 57 yards.

The Bruins offense will be challenged again this Saturday, October 12 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against the Minnesota Gophers. The Gophers have the No. 1 pass defense in the nation, allowing just 114 yards per game through the air. They are ranked 6th defensively in the nation in total yardage per game at 251.2 yards per game and 16th in the nation in scoring defense allowing just 15.67 points per game.

This will be a battle of struggling offenses on Saturday Night. The Bruins are ranked 127th out of 133 teams in total offensive yardage per game at 261.6 yards per game. The Gophers are ranked 109th at 333 yards per game. The Gophers are 3-3 on the season and are coming off a 24-17 upset win at home over the USC Trojans.

The Bruins have not indicated whether Garbers will be able to start on Saturday. Garbers was suffering from a foot injury and his mobility will be critical against the Minnesota pass defense. Garbers foot has been heavily wrapped in practice this week. If he is not ready to go on Saturday, Martin will start.

The Bruins will need the defense to step up in this game against the Gophers. In the four-game losing streak, the defense has produced just one sack and just one turnover. They should be able to produce more big plays against the Minnesota offense at home. The Gophers are favored by 5.5 points in this game. The game will begin at 6:00 pm locally and will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network.