Tag: Deshaun Foster

UCLA Bruins drop to 1-5 after loss to Minnesota

The UCLA Bruins extended their losing streak after another poor offensive performance.

The UCLA Bruins have suffered several tough Big Ten losses this season, none more crushing than on Saturday night. Extending their losing streak to five games, the Bruins fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 21-17 at home.

UCLA held the lead with two minutes remaining, 17-14, but a defensive breakdown inside the five by the Bruins allowed a four-yard touchdown pass from Golden Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer. With only 27 seconds remaining, the Bruins trailed by four.

On the ensuing UCLA possession, the offense stalled.

Questionable entering the game with an ankle injury, quarterback Ethan Garbers started over Justyn Martin, finishing with 23 of 32 passing with 263 yards, a pair of interceptions, and a touchdown in the losing effort.

UCLA’s rushing offense continued to underwhelm, only averaging a dismal 1.4 yards per carry on 26 attempts for 36 yards, a testament to offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s lackluster coaching.

Head coach DeShaun Foster and the Bruins head back to the drawing board looking for answers after dropping an important game that was within their grasp.

Traveling east next Saturday to take on Rutgers, UCLA looks to snap their losing streak and find their first win in the Big Ten.

What exactly is wrong with Eric Bieniemy’s offense?

What is going on with the offense?

The UCLA Bruins coaching staff went through a large overhaul following the departure of head coach Chip Kelly. In his wake, the Bruins elevated running backs coach DeShaun Foster to head coach and hired Eric Bieniemy to head the offense.

Thus far, both have struggled mightily in the Big Ten.

The Bruins offense ranks 126th in points per game and 125th in yards per game in the country. Which begs the question: What is wrong?

To start, Bieniemy did not inherit an overly talented offense group. From passable receiver play to below-average offensive line success, UCLA is hardly one of the Big Ten’s most talented offensive rosters.

Though not the fault of Bieniemy, even teams stripped of high-end talent can devise schemes to generate offense and points. For Bieniemy, he and the Bruins have lacked in both categories.

Moreover, rather than running a varied or unique offense, many of Bieniemy’s play calls look very “vanilla.” With simple schemes and little misdirection, UCLA’s already depleted roster is very predictable. The combination of low-end talent and poor schemes is likely the culprit for UCLA’s anemic offense.

If by the end of the year, UCLA’s offense continues to show little sign of improvement Bieniemy could be in the hot seat much like Foster.

DeShaun Foster staying coy amid QB1 questions

Who will be the starter? Only time will tell.

Ethan Garbers is recovering from the injury that kept him out against Penn State. Justyn Martin is looking for another start after showing what he was capable of against the Nittany Lions.

With a home game against Minnesota in Week 7, UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster remains mum on who will be the starter, at least as of Wednesday and Thursday.

While a final word will be available soon, Foster revealed why he isn’t showing his hand, per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times.

“I have an opponent that’s for sure looking at what you guys post,” Foster told reporters, “so that’s why it is what it is. If I could tell you guys and you wouldn’t post it, I would tell you, but that’s not necessarily what’s going to happen.”

Only time will tell who will start for UCLA, but Foster is trying to keep some things hidden.

Why UCLA vs. Minnesota is important for DeShaun Foster

The Bruins face Minnesota with a lot on the line for DeShaun Foster.

Through the first five games of head coach DeShaun Foster’s tenure with the Bruins, UCLA has been underwhelming, if not disappointing.

Heading to University Park to take on  Minnesota this weekend looking to pull the upset, the Bruins sit at 1-4, coming off three straight relatively uncompetitive games.

Certainly, a win over the Golden Gophers would reinvigorate the locker room and instill confidence on both sides of the ball, but more importantly, Foster would emerge as UCLA’s head coach of the future rather than simply a placeholder.

Lauded for his ability to connect and coach young players this offseason, Foster has been more of a cheerleader for the Bruins than a coach this season.

Under Foster’s coaching, the UCLA Bruins have yet to establish anything remotely resembling a team identity, nor have Foster’s in-game coaching decisions stood out.

In short, Foster has yet to make a mark on the program.

It is easy to overreact, with Foster only coaching his fifth game this weekend, but a win on the road in a hostile environment could potentially help establish an identity, prove his coaching prowess, and potentially save his job.

Whether or not the Bruins win this weekend against Minnesota is largely inconsequential. Even in a losing effort, if Foster can show flashes of what he brings to the table as a coach, UCLA could gain a moral victory and conviction in their head coach.

Will UCLA football be better with Justyn Martin?

UCLA’s quarterback change could improve the offense as a whole.

UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster made the biggest coaching decision of his career in Westwood last weekend.

Benching starting quarterback Ethan Garbers for up-and-coming signal-caller Justyn Martin, Foster made the change ahead of their losing effort to Penn State.

On the season, Garbers completed 67 of 117 passes for 808 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions. Naturally, Foster made the change to reinvigorate a sliding Bruins team in hopes of picking up some wins down the stretch.

Martin has only attempted 35 passes in his college football career, all of which came against Penn State last Saturday. But the quarterback change could breathe new life into the sluggish Bruins offense.

Though not as athletic as Garbers, Martin is a decisive passer who could lend himself to a more conventional, efficient offense. For a Bruins team looking to “get back to the basics,” Martin offers the Bruins a chance to move the chains effectively and avoid the back-breaking turnovers that have plagued the Bruins thus far.

If Foster continues to play Martin, expect a relatively smooth offensive attack and the Bruins to be competitive well into the second half going forward.

Can UCLA football save their first season in the Big Ten?

As the Bruins schedule gets easier, they have a chance to save their first season in the Big Ten.

For UCLA Bruins football fans, the 2024 college football season has been one big bad dream. Suffering another blowout loss to Penn State, the Bruins fell to the bottom of the Big Ten standings in their first season in the conference.

The first year under head coach DeShaun Foster has resembled Murphy’s Law, where “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” At 1-4 and amid a quarterback change, the Bruins season looks to be lost.

That said, UCLA’s schedule does get markedly easier from here on out. With USC and Nebraska being the only remaining Top-25 teams on their schedule, the Bruins have a chance to slowly but surely change their fortunes by picking up potential wins.

Given how the Bruins have played through six weeks, it is hard to imagine their struggling offense scoring north of 20 points, but as their schedule softens Foster and Co. have a chance to start building an identity.

With Justyn Martin taking the reins of the offense, UCLA’s offense could show steady improvements and win a small handful of games.

A near .500 record for the Bruins in their first season in the Big Ten could go a long way in settling the program and establishing an identity as talented recruits make their way to Westwood in the coming years.

Photos from UCLA Bruins loss to Penn State

UCLA’s loss to Penn State through the lens.

The UCLA Bruins dropped their second-straight game to a Big Ten opponent on the road this week, falling to #7 Penn State 27-11 and the bottom of the standings.

Though the Bruins defense held its ground against a dynamic Nittany Lions offense, UCLA’s offense, on the other hand, played an unfortunately characteristic game. Accumulating only 260 yards of total offense, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s impact on the Bruins offense has yet to be seen.

Hopefully, with a quarterback change from the floundering Ethan Garbers to Justyn Martin, the Bruins could show some signs of life as their schedule gets softer down the stretch.

In the meantime, questions of DeShaun Foster’s legitimacy as a Big Ten-caliber coach remain. Here are the best photos from UCLA’s game at Penn State.

UCLA football loses to Penn State in embarassing fashion

UCLA dropped another Big Ten game after another dismal offensive performance.

The UCLA Bruins dropped their third straight game of the 2024 college football season to No. 7 Penn State 27-11. Their second-straight loss to a Big Ten opponent, after losing to Oregon last week, not even a quarterback change could bolster the Bruins offense.

Head coach DeShaun Foster made the change from the struggling Ethan Garbers to sophomore Justyn Martin, who finished with 167 yards on 22-30 passing with a touchdown. Though Martin showed some surprising success in a hostile environment, the change was not enough to be a deciding factor.

The Bruins offense mustered only 11 points, with eight of them scored within the final thirty seconds. Unable to run the ball once again, with the team accumulating a meager 93 yards on 29 carries, UCLA’s offense was as ugly as it was inefficient.

Where the Bruins go from here, however, will be interesting to watch unfold.

The quarterback change will likely stick, as the younger, more dynamic Martin offers the Bruins a higher upside with the potential to grow. But if UCLA’s offense continues to underwhelm, Bruins fans could be in for a long season as they take on a frisky Minnesota team at home in only one week.

Oct 5, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster claps his hands from the sideline during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images

UCLA football are finalist for top-rated cornerback

UCLA is in the mix with some Big Ten schools to land a top-rated cornerback.

UCLA has had a rough time adjusting to the Big Ten this season, falling to #8 Oregon on Saturday 34-13, but the Bruins remain an attractive destination for high-end recruits.

According to On3, the number-one-rated cornerback in the 2026 recruiting class, Elbert Hill, has the Bruins on his shortlist of ten potential landing spots. Hill, from Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron, Ohio, has several Big Ten schools on his radar including Michigan, USC, Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, and UCLA.

Though the Bruins have not had the recent success as their Big Ten counterparts, with many seeing UCLA as one of the worst teams in the conference, Hill does not seem to agree. Head coach DeShaun Foster’s Bruins have underperformed thus far this season, but a strong finish to the 2024 college football season could give the Bruins a bump.

With a potentially up-and-coming roster and a great location, the Bruins still have a puncher’s chance to land one of the best prospects in the 2026 recruiting class.

UCLA football picks up pair of commitments from twins

More commits for UCLA.

Following a tough Big Ten loss to the #8 Oregon Ducks on Saturday, 34-13, Bruins fans got a dose of good news on the recruiting front. 

The UCLA Bruins landed a pair of 2026 twins from Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, this week, according to Blair Angulo of 247Sports (subscription required).

The twins, Jaron and Kennan Pula are both three-star wide receivers with two-way ability. Following in the trend of players like Colorado’s wide receiver and cornerback standout Travis Hunter, the Pula twins boast an ability to play on both sides of the ball and give the Bruins options. 

In addition to adding to their already impressive year of recruiting, the Bruins now have the ability to use Kennan and Jaron Pula as defenders or receivers, depending on their best abilities and how they continue to progress in high school.

For a team like the Bruins looking to bolster their roster on both offense and defense, the Pula twins offer the kind of versatility and dynamic playmaking that head coach DeShaun Foster and UCLA need so desperately.