LINCOLN, Neb. — Its offense buzzing and its protection holding up on drives by which it didn’t commit an inexcusable penalty, UCLA appeared prefer it would possibly roll to a convincing street victory halfway by the third quarter Saturday.
With quarterback Ethan Garbers virtually mimicking his career-best efficiency from his final sport, the Bruins held a 20-point lead over Nebraska. It could have been simple to start out pondering the way to spend the flight house.
Then one thing unexpected rolled into Memorial Stadium: drama.
Nebraska freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who made poor choices for many of the afternoon, fired a landing go. The Cornhuskers then shrugged off a fourth-down sack within the crimson zone and an harm to Raiola to attain one other landing that shaved their deficit to seven factors. They received the ball again at their very own 19-yard line with 2 minutes 22 seconds left with an opportunity to tie the rating or take the lead.
Nebraska finally reached UCLA’s 39-yard line when backup quarterback Heinrich Haarberg fired a deep go. As Cornhuskers receiver Jacory Barney Jr. and Bruins security Bryan Addison jostled for the ball, it bounced off Barney’s knee and into the palms of UCLA cornerback Kaylin Moore for an interception with 29 seconds left.
Collapse averted. Sport over.
UCLA defensive again Bryan Addison breaks up a go meant for Nebraska receiver Jacory Barney Jr., which was then intercepted by Kaylin Moore, not proven, to seal the Bruins’ win Saturday.
(Rebecca S. Gratz / Related Press)
Moore sprinted down the sector of celebration of his game-saving play that gave UCLA an unexpectedly breathless 27-20 victory.
“A huge play for Kaylin,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster mentioned. “That was actually his first interception, it was just good that it came in this type of situation for us. We’re fired up for him.”
UCLA’s second consecutive triumph sustained its flickering bowl hopes and continued its seasonlong development of taking part in higher on the street, the place the Bruins (3-5 total, 2-4 Huge Ten) have notched all their victories.
This one got here with a large sigh of reduction.
Nebraska pulled to inside 27-20 with 3:57 left after Dante Dowdell leaped over defenders for a one-yard landing. The rating may need pulled the Cornhuskers right into a tie had UCLA not made a giant cease earlier within the fourth quarter.
With Nebraska going through fourth and objective from the 5, Bruins linebacker Carson Schwesinger sacked Raiola for a 10-yard loss. However UCLA couldn’t decide up a primary down on its subsequent drive and the Cornhuskers received the ball again, finally scoring for a 3rd consecutive time on a drive by which a Bruins defender was referred to as for unsportsmanlike conduct. The offender this time was defensive sort out Sitiveni Havili Kaufusi, following equivalent penalties by linebackers Ale Kaho and Oluwafemi Oladejo.
“It’s straight discipline,” Foster mentioned. “Guys have to be disciplined.”
Persevering with his bid to finish his school profession on a roll, Garbers accomplished 17 of 25 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
“Ethan’s a top-tier quarterback if we can just keep him up,” Foster mentioned, “and that’s one thing our O-line has been doing, they’ve been protecting him well.”
He was notably robust within the sport’s early going.
Garbers accomplished his first 5 passes, changing a pair of third downs alongside the best way, to assist the Bruins get a primary and objective on the Nebraska eight. However a brief run, an incompletion and a Garbers scramble for one yard on third down compelled UCLA to accept Mateen Bhaghani’s 25-yard area objective.
There could be no compromising the subsequent time the Bruins received the ball. Garbers moved his crew effectively down the sector as soon as once more, firing a completion to J.Michael Sturdivant in double protection to transform a 3rd down. The drive ended with Garbers throwing a 10-yard display screen go to working again Jalen Berger for a landing.
UCLA led 10-0 and it appeared just like the Bruins is perhaps on the best way to a blowout once they appeared to carry Nebraska to a second consecutive three-and-out collection. However because the boos from the sellout crowd of 87,453 serenaded the Cornhuskers, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play on Oladejo for taunting gave Nebraska a primary down.
The Cornhuskers (5-4, 2-4) made the many of the alternative, Raiola firing a 40-yard go for his first completion and Nebraska finally scoring on Dowdell’s four-yard landing run to make it 10-7.
Garbers then emulated one other a part of his success in opposition to Rutgers when he escaped stress close to the road of scrimmage and eluded a defender on a 57-yard run. Later, going through a fourth and one at Nebraska’s eight-yard line, the Bruins lined as much as go for it earlier than Nebraska referred to as a timeout. Then UCLA referred to as a timeout and kicked a 26-yard area objective to forge a 13-7 lead.
The lead would develop significantly earlier than the Bruins may lastly exhale because of their protection.
“We didn’t start the way we wanted to,” Garbers mentioned, “but we’re going to finish the way we want to.”
