UCLA Football: Bruins Center Blasts OL's Failure to Protect Ethan Garbers

John Robinson | Sep 29, 2024

Sep 28, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive back Dakoda Fields (11) moves in to sack UCLA Bruins quarterback Ethan Garbers (4) during the second quarter at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

No one expected the UCLA football team's first season in the Big Ten Conference to be a walk in the park but for a team that led the Pac-12 in rushing a year ago, the transition was not expected to be this disastrous. The schedule makers gave the Bruins one of the toughest campaigns in the country, with the most notable factor being that the team would have to travel more air miles than any other team in the nation.

The Bruins are currently 1-3 on the season with two of their three losses coming from ranked opponents. Most recently UCLA had their home opener against the sixth-ranked University of Oregon, a game in which the Bruins would be overwhelmed as they fell 34-13.

The biggest takeaway from this team this season is their lack of continuity and physicality on the offensive side of the football. This team was expected to have a tough identity behind no-nonsense head football coach DeShaun Foster, but the Bruins have gotten pushed around considerably five weeks into the season.

Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieneiemy has had trouble getting his unit into a rhythm this season due to the inefficiencies of his offensive line. The Bruins have been unable to pass or rush the football consistently and that has largely been due to their inability to win individual matchups in the trenches.

Quarterback Ethan Garbers was taken out of the game after being hit a number of times. Coach Foster spoke about sidelining his signal-caller during the Big Ten showdown.

“Well, if you know Ethan, you know he was fighting to stay out there,” Foster said. “So when you have a player that’s begging to stay out there and he wanted to keep playing, [they’re] going to let him play.”

Bruins center Josh Carlin said that Garbers was alright after the game. But he blasted the rest of the offensive line for their failure to protect the quarterback.

“He’s all good,” Carlin said. “I was talking to him, and I told him that as the leader of the offensive line, we need to figure this out. We need to keep him up. We failed at that miserably. We got to start taking pride and not let him get hurt and not let him get touched so he can operate this offense.”

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