Bruins Finish Season With Close Win Over Fresno State

The UCLA Bruins close out the 2024 season with a one-score win over the Fresno State Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl. 14 second-half points were the difference in a comeback win on senior day.

Oct 12, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer (3) runs past Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive lineman Deven Eastern (91) during the second quarter at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (5-7) finish their season on the right note with a 20-13 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl on Saturday afternoon. Senior quarterback Ethan Garbers and tight end Moliki Matavao were the stars in the team's fifth win of the season.

It was a tale of two halves once again for the Bruins as they started extremely slow offensively, scoring just six points in the first half with two field goals from sophomore kicker Mateen Bhaghani. They also committed seven first-half penalties for a total of 75 yards with just four rushing yards.

The Bruins found themselves trailing the Bulldogs 10-6 at halftime and played one of their worst halves of football of the season. They made some drastic adjustments at halftime and executed incredibly well in the final 30 minutes, outscoring the Bulldogs 14-3 in the second half.

Junior running back T.J. Harden found the end zone on the opening drive of the second half to give the Bruins a lead that they would not lose. They would bookend the half with a Garbers 2-yard touchdown pass to receiver J. Michael Sturdivant to put the Bruins up 10 late.

The Bulldogs would settle for a field goal on their final drive in hopes of recovering an onside kick but would be unsuccessful. Victory formation would ensure and the Bruins finish the season 5-7 with a big non-conference win on senior day.

Garbers has a sensational day, throwing for 289 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions. His main target was senior Moliki Matavao who was playing in the final game of his collegiate career. Matavao recorded 120 receiving yards on eight receptions. It was a career-high for the senior.

With just one penalty committed in the second half, the Bruins found a way to strengthen the discipline while establishing a competent running game with 70 second-half yards. Junior back Anthony Frias II played in just his third game of the season, earning a season-high 43 yards on 13 carries.

There are things to improve on going into next year, but the comeback this team made to win four of their final six games after a 1-5 start was very promising.

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