UCLA's First Home Win Meant More Than Any Other

The UCLA Bruins earned their first home victory of the season on Friday night over the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Bruins senior quarterback spoke about what it mean to get it done on Homecoming.

Nov 8, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Ethan Garbers (4) looks to pass in the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (4-5) earned their third-straight win on Friday night, taking down the Iowa Hawkeyes (6-4) with a comeback upset on Homecoming night. There were several key players, but senior quarterback Ethan Garbers responded the best after a rocky start.

Garbers was asked about how good it feels to finally get a win at home after starting the year 0-4 at the Rose Bowl, not only for the team but for his first-year head coach, DeShaun Foster, who was a former Bruin running back before playing in the NFL.

"We really haven't had our best performances at home this year," Garbers said after Friday's win. "Not saying we had a good performance tonight either, we did get the victory, yes, but back to your question though, coach Foster he's not a losing guy. He doesn't do that. Everything that he's done in his life, he's won at and I bet he is a very sore loser and a great winner. We're just happy that we were able to get it done for him tonight."

Garbers threw two interceptions on the first two offensive drives for the Bruins. He would respond quickly, throwing for two touchdowns and over 200 yards passing. He was able to dissect the defense and gradually got better as the game went on.

He gave credit to their defensive group that made it tough on him all game.

"They're a great defense," Garbers said regarding the Hawkeyes. "they're well coached, obviously, didn't start the game how I wanted to with theturnovers. Can't have those, but, just throughout the game, just kept on working. All the stuff we were moving the ball up and down the field fine. I knew all the stuff was there, I just had to keep on trusting and just keep moving forward. I can't dwell on the past and just got to keep moving forward."

The Bruins fell down 10-0 to start the game after the pair of picks from Garbers. He and the rest of their team kept a resilient mentality and were able to flush the bad start and move forward to score 17 straight points and ultimately win the ballgame.

"It feels great honestly," Garbers said. "We didn't really start how we wanted to, but I mean, it's not about how you start it's about how you finish. We're on a nice little win streak right now. Hopefully, we we keep that going. Coach Foster said it to us after the game, we know how to win, we got the taste in our mouth, and now it's just up to us to go out there execute."

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