UCLA Football: DeShaun Foster Doesn't Hold Back Following Bruins Loss to LSU

John Robinson | 2 Hours Ago

Sep 21, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster looks on during the second half against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The University of California Los Angeles football team traveled to Death Valley to take on the 16th-ranked Tigers of LSU. After a competitive first half, the Bruins collapsed in the second half resulting in a 34-17 loss.

The Bruins looked like an improved ball club in the first half of their Saturday afternoon matchup with LSU. DeShaun Foster and his team were tied 17-17 at halftime after an impressive showing. The run game looked reminiscent of a season ago when UCLA led the Pac-12 in rushing yards.

Unfortunately, after a back-and-forth first half, LSU would wear down the Bruins as they blew the game open putting up 17 points in the second half while UCLA went scoreless.

Miscues and turnovers hampered UCLA throughout the game as they needed to be near flawless if they wanted to complete their upset bid on Saturday. Despite LSU clearly having the more talented roster, there were some good takeaways from this game that Bruins fans should be optimistic about.

The first two games of UCLA's 2024 season were very lethargic as they looked like a shell of the team they were a year ago. Entering their game with LSU most were expecting this to be a route by the Tigers, however, the Bruins did enough to make it a close game to start.

Going forward this game should be a good momentum boost as they head into their home opener against a ranked Oregon Ducks team. The biggest takeaway from their game with LSU was the fact that the run game looked a lot better. The inclusion of transfer running back Jalen Berger seemed like a new playmaker who could be electric for this Eric Bieniemy-led offense.

Coach Foster spoke with reporters after the game and was candid about the performance his team put together. He was pleased with the effort of his group but did highlight that they needed to cut down on the mistakes made because it was the biggest reason why LSU was able to get the better of them in the second half.

"We can’t continue to beat ourselves, we have to allow a team to beat us, but this is baby steps and I just like the way that my team is fighting – they’re being resilient and they’re continually trying to fight during the game."

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