Rutgers football loses to UCLA in ugly fashion, drops 3rd straight game
In its annual Homecoming game, the Rutgers football team lost in ugly fashion, falling 35-32 to UCLA. That scoreline doesn’t tell the full story – it was a poor performance from the Scarlet Knights (4-3, 1-3), who lost their third straight game and handed the Bruins (2-5, 1-4) their first conference win of the season.
Coming into Saturday’s game, UCLA had not scored more than 17 points in a single game this season. But the Bruins easily surpassed that tally against Rutgers, putting up a season-high 35 points.
For the second straight week, head coach Greg Schiano did not have his defense prepared, putting the team in a 7-0 deficit before the offense had a chance to touch the ball.
Big plays – like UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers’ 49-yard touchdown scamper and a 67-yard catch in which running back Keegan Jones was left wide open – were killers for the Knights’ defense.
Garbers was carving up the defense all afternoon. Although he was just the 17th highest-rated quarterback in the Big Ten before kickoff, he finished the game with four passing touchdowns and a pass completion percentage of 84.
Rutgers’ offensive could have certainly done more, but unlike the defense, it significantly improved from last week’s 42-7 thumping by Wisconsin. There was still questionable decision-making, including multiple third and long-run plays, but more than 400 yards of offense is a step forward after almost being held to a measly seven points a week ago.
Senior quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis made some big-time throws, including a 59-yard strike to freshman wide receiver KJ Duff, which set up senior running back Kyle Monangai’s second touchdown of the game halfway through the fourth quarter.
Perhaps the biggest blow from the loss is that this was by far the easiest game left on the Knights’ schedule. The Bruins – traveling across the country and on a five-game losing streak – were far from the favorites to win this game, especially in the fashion they did.
There’s no debate that injuries are taking a toll on this team, but the last two games have set the program backward after a great start to the season.
Rutgers will next travel to California for just the third time in program history for a Friday night game against USC. The contest will kick off at 11 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
“I need to do a better job in leading the program,” Schiano said. “We will get there, this program will get there.”
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