The Bruins did not receive a warm welcome to the Big Ten on Saturday, losing to the Indiana Hoosiers 42-13 in their conference opener.
After another rough first half for quarterback Ethan Garbers, who fumbled his first snap from scrimmage, leading to an Indiana touchdown, the Bruins fell behind 14-0 early in the first quarter.
Failing to make up the deficit on offense, Garbers finished with only 137 yards on 14-23 passing and a touchdown while under constant duress. UCLA’s running game similarly flailed, only tallying 96 yards and 3.7 yards per carry in a dismal performance overall.
UCLA’s defense struggled on Saturday night as well. Allowing 21 points in both the first and second half and 430 total yards overall, UCLA’s secondary broke down at critical junctures in the red zone and did not sack Hoosier quarterback Kurtis Rourke once.
In desperate need of establishing the run, creating dynamic plays in the passing game, and limiting pre-snap penalties on the offensive line, head coach DeShaun Foster and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy have their work cut out for them ahead of their next game at #16 LSU.