No matter what happens over his final handful of college games, Ethan Garbers can always remember this glorious afternoon.
He’ll always have Piscataway.
Widely dismissed after a forgettable first half of the season, the UCLA quarterback provided one reminder after another Saturday afternoon why his coach stuck with him through his struggles.
Garbers went into the birthplace of college football and spawned a midseason revival. Dazzling with his legs as well as an arm that was as strong and accurate as it’s ever been, Garbers carried the Bruins to a 35-32 victory over Rutgers at SHI Stadium that momentarily changed the narrative on their season.
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That five-game losing streak? Over.
A first Big Ten victory? Theirs.
Career highs for Garbers? All over the place.
After Rutgers had rolled off nine consecutive points in the third quarter to pull within 21-19, Garbers offered a rebuttal two plays later. It came when the fifth-year senior connected with running back Keegan Jones coming out of the backfield uncovered for a 67-yard touchdown that was the longest completion of Garbers’ career.
Later, on third-and-one, Garbers surged and spun his way for six yards before emphatically thrusting his arm forward to denote the first down. The exclamation point came on another third down early in the fourth quarter when Garbers found running back Jalen Berger for a nine-yard touchdown pass.
Most of the highlights were Garbers’ on a day that he completed 32 of 38 passes (84%) for a career-high 383 yards and a career-high four touchdowns to go with a career-long 49-yard touchdown run while helping his team more than double its previous high for points in a game this season.
The Bruins (2-5, 1-4) rolled up 478 total yards of offense after having some success on the ground against the Scarlet Knights (4-3, 1-3), nearly reaching triple digits in that category for the first time this season before three consecutive victory-formation plays left them with 95 yards.
Jones (five catches for 114 yards) and tight end Moliki Matavao (six catches for 104 yards) gave the Bruins two receivers topping 100 yards in the same game since they did it against Fresno State in 2021.
UCLA’s only significant blemish was a secondary that was repeatedly beaten for big plays and penalized, not to mention Garbers losing a fumble with 3½ minutes to go. Rutgers eventually scored on running back Kyle Monangai’s one-yard touchdown 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 had teammate Logan Loya not signaled for a fair catch.
Garbers helped UCLA top its season high for points before halftime, the Bruins finally breaking the 17-point barrier when he connected with running back T.J. Harden on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds left in the first half. UCLA held a 21-10 lead and some Rutgers fans booed their team on its way into the locker room.
The Bruins made themselves at home practically from the moment the Rutgers band played their fight song as a courtesy before the game.
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 left the Bruins facing third and long. His five-yard touchdown pass to Loya completed a successful opening drive, and he more than made up for his few mistakes.
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After fumbling a handoff to running back Jalen Berger before pouncing on the ball for a three-yard loss, Garbers helped his team convert a gutsy call. With UCLA facing a fourth and one on its own 18-yard line midway through the second quarter, Garbers rewarded coach DeShaun Foster’s decision to go for it by running for two yards and a first down.
Garbers’ top play came later on the same drive when he juked a defender near the line of scrimmage, cut outside and skirted the sideline for a 49-yard rushing touchdown.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
