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UCLA Football: Three Crucial Takeaways From Close Loss to Minnesota

The Bruins have lost five straight.

Eva Geitheim

Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
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UCLA football came within reach of their first victory since August, and their first Big Ten win, but ultimately fell 21-17 to Minnesota in front of the home crowd at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night. After Indiana, LSU, Oregon, and Penn State — teams with a combined 23-1 record — blew out UCLA over four consecutive weeks, the Bruins finally played a more competitive football game against the Golden Gophers.

While UCLA had a shot at victory the entire game, but they ended up blowing a 10-point lead to endure their fifth straight loss. Here are the top three takeaways from the loss:

J. Michael Sturdivant, TJ Harden Emerge Again

Heading into the 2024 season, Sturdivant and Harden were expected to be two of the Bruins' leading weapons offensively. Before Saturday, both players were largely quiet for the first five games of the season.

Through five games, Sturdivant had just 62 yards receiving. Sturdivant finished as the team's second-leading receiver in 2023 and figured to be a pivotal part of the offense. The Bruins finally targeted Sturdivant on Saturday as the primary weapon he can be. Sturdivant caught seven passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. Sturdivant's highlight of the day came when he hauled in a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ethan Garbers, but he also caught several passes to convert third downs and allow the Bruins to keep driving.

Harden has been the primary running back for the Bruins all season, but the run game has yet to get going. Instead, Harden made a larger contribution in the receiving game, catching three passes for 57 yards. His best play came on a dump-off from Garbers in the third quarter, in which he evaded multiple Minnesota defenders for a 32-yard catch and run that brought UCLA into the red zone.

Unfortunately for UCLA, this performance was not enough for the team to score 20 points for the first time this season or get the win. Their offense played better, but was not able to overcome the woes that have plagued them all season.

Carson Schwesinger Continues to Leads Defense

Schwesinger continues to be one of the brightest points of the Bruins' defense as he recorded his best game of the season on Saturday. Schwesinger leads the team in tackles and has now recorded double-digit tackles in each of his last four games. Against Minnesota, the walk-on recorded 13 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks. The Bruins pass rush has struggled to record sacks this season, and Schwesinger single-handedly provided two.

The Tale of Two Halves Continues

“We are a one half team right now," UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster told reporters after the game.

The Bruins looked like the better team on the field throughout the first half. The Bruins quickly scored a touchdown on their opening drive, and their offense was able to march down the field for much of the half. The defense stifled Minnesota's attack, leading to UCLA taking a 10-0 lead at the end. Had it not been for an interception off a tipped pass on another drive UCLA was approaching scoring position and the Bruins likely could have had an even larger lead at the half.

Yet similarly to the rest of the season, UCLA could not maintain its momentum through the second half. Instead, Minnesota scored 14 points in the third quarter to take the lead. UCLA would answer with a fourth-quarter touchdown, but the Golden Gophers scored again to seal the win.

Through most of their games this season, UCLA has played really well in one half — often well enough to win the game. The issue remains that they cannot play to the same level over two halves, which has led them to starting 1-5.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Communication. She has been covering college and professional sports since 2022.

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