Ethan Garbers leads UCLA over Rutgers to its first Big Ten win

No matter what happens in his final college games, Ethan Garbers will always remember that glorious afternoon.

He will always have Piscataway.

The UCLA quarterback, widely dismissed after a forgettable first half of the season, had another Saturday afternoon reminder of why his coach stood by him despite his struggles.

Garbers entered the birthplace of college football and sparked a midseason revival. With his impressive legs and an arm as strong and precise as ever, Garbers carried the Bruins to a 35-32 victory over Rutgers at SHI Stadium that momentarily changed the history of their season.

That five-game losing streak? Above.

A first Big Ten win? Her.

Career highlights for Garbers? Everywhere.

After Rutgers scored nine straight points to make it 21-19 in the third quarter, Garbers offered a rebuttal two plays later. It came when the fifth-year senior connected with running back Keegan Jones, who came uncovered out of the backfield and scored a 67-yard touchdown, marking the longest completion of Garbers’ career.

Later, on third-and-1, Garbers rushed and spun for six yards before emphatically extending his arm forward to signal first down. The exclamation point came early in the fourth quarter with another third down, when Garbers caught running back Jalen Berger for a nine-yard touchdown pass.

Most of Garbers’ highlights came on a day in which he completed 32 of 38 passes (84%) for a career-high 383 yards and four touchdowns, along with a career-best 49-yard touchdown run during his Helped the team more than double its mileage, its previous points high this season.

The Bruins (2-5, 1-4) totaled 478 yards on offense after finding some success on the ground against the Scarlet Knights (4-3, 1-3), nearly reaching it in that category for the first time before triple digits Three consecutive victory formation plays left them with 95 yards.

Jones (five catches for 114 yards) and tight end Moliki Matavao (six for 104) gave the Bruins two receivers with more than 100 yards in the same game for the first time since 2021 against Fresno State.

UCLA’s only major flaw was a secondary that was repeatedly beaten and penalized for big plays, not to mention Garbers lost a fumble with three and a half minutes left. Rutgers finally scored on running back Kyle Monangai’s one-yard run with 1:45 left to make it 35-32, but UCLA’s Grant Gray recovered the onside kick and would have returned it for a touchdown if teammate Logan Loya would not have signaled a fair catch.

Garbers helped UCLA surpass its season high before halftime, and the Bruins finally broke the 17-point mark when he caught a 22-yard touchdown pass with running back TJ Harden 22 seconds before halftime. UCLA led 21-10 and some Rutgers fans booed their team on the way to the locker room.

The Bruins felt practically at home from the moment the Rutgers band played their fight song as a pregame courtesy.

With his offensive line holding up on nearly every play, Garbers dismantled the Scarlet Knights’ defense with a variety of screen and swing passes that rarely gave the Bruins third down and long yardage. His five-yard touchdown pass to Loya capped a successful opening drive, and Garbers more than made up for his few mistakes.

After fumbling a handoff to Berger before pouncing on the ball for a three-yard loss, Garbers helped his team make a bold call. With UCLA facing fourth-and-1 at its own 18-yard line midway through the second quarter, Garbers rewarded coach DeShaun Foster’s decision with a two-yard run for a first down.

Garbers’ top play came later in the same drive when he hit a defender near the line of scrimmage with a juke, cut outside and rounded the sideline for a 49-yard touchdown.