This is bad.
There’s no other way to spin it for UCLA after a third consecutive loss during what was supposed to be the soft part of the schedule raised a frightening prospect: Will the Bruins win a game this season?
They didn’t look capable of beating a quality high school team after dropping a second consecutive game to a Mountain West Conference opponent.
UCLA’s 35-10 loss to New Mexico on Friday night at the Rose Bowl represented a possible new low after the Bruins once again looked lost on both sides of the ball.
Fans started streaming out of the stands in earnest after New Mexico running back Damon Bankston turned a short pass into a 43-yard touchdown with just more than seven minutes left, breaking a couple of tackles along the way.
UCLA is not only 0-3 for the first time since 2019, the Bruins have not held a lead this season after falling into another big hole on a night they were 15½-point favorites.
A bye week before opening Big Ten play on the road against Northwestern will certainly lead to a long list of questions for UCLA coach DeShaun Foster after his record fell to 5-10 early in his second season.
Among the possible queries: How does he account for a team that appears as bad on offense as defense after adding star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the biggest name in the transfer portal? Can he rally his team for one victory during a season in which it might not be favored the rest of the way?
The Bruins were staring into the abyss after Bankston ran for a two-yard touchdown that put the Lobos up 21-10 with 10:42 left in the game.
It only got worse from there, after things had tilted in the Bruins’ direction earlier in the third quarter.
UCLA forced its first turnover of the season at a most opportune time.
With New Mexico (2-1) facing a fourth and one at the Bruins’ five-yard line, Deshaun Buchanan ran for two yards before having the ball stripped by UCLA safety Key Lawrence. Bruins defensive end Devin Aupiu recovered the fumble to thwart the drive.
The Bruins soon benefited from another Lobos mistake after their next drive ended in a three-and-out. Will Karoll’s punt was muffed and recovered by Kyle Miller at the UCLA 41.
UCLA eventually drove for Mateen Bhaghani’s 51-yard field goal that shaved the Bruins’ deficit to 14-10 late in the third quarter, but only after left tackle Garrett DiGiorgio was called for false starts on back-to-back plays.
In keeping with an early season tradition, UCLA found itself down by multiple scores before posting its first points. After trailing 20-0 against Utah and 23-0 against Nevada Las Vegas, the Bruins fell behind 14-0 against the Lobos after displaying more leaky defense and sputtering offense.
New Mexico hurt UCLA with both the run and the pass, following Scottre Humphrey’s one-yard run with Jack Layne’s eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Simon Mapa on fourth and two early in the second quarter.
Boos could be heard inside the stadium as fans contemplated the possibility of the Bruins falling to a second Mountain West Conference opponent in a six-day span.
More embarrassingly, the Big Sky Conference’s official Twitter site responded to a post jokingly saying that UCLA was reportedly exploring a move to its conference by responding, “No thank you.”
Finally countering thanks in part to a roughing the passer penalty on the Lobos, UCLA finally got on the board when Iamaleava zipped a 12-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala midway through the second quarter.
The Bruins then generated their biggest defensive play of the season after Robert Stafford III fell down in pursuit of Bankston on what turned into a 43-yard run. On fourth and one at the UCLA three-yard line, the Bruins stuffed Layne on a keeper to force a turnover on downs.
But UCLA’s 14-7 halftime deficit might have not been its most unsightly number after the Bruins committed eight penalties for 76 yards by then, showing they had not cleaned up the many mistakes they had made last week against Nevada Las Vegas.
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