Washington took care of business in a dominant 48–14 win during UCLA’s final home game of the season.
On Senior Night at the Rose Bowl, 24 Bruins were honored before kickoff on a clear, windy night in front of 38,201 fans. It was the last time the senior class would play in the historic stadium.
Coming into the game, the Washington Huskies had a dismal 3-12 record against UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. understood the assignment of winning in a stadium they’ve struggled playing in historically.
“We hopped on it all week in practice. Understanding that playing on the road is difficult, and the history that we have playing here.”
Both teams opened with empty drives, with Washington punting and UCLA failing to convert on 4th & 4.
Late in the first quarter, Washington caught a break on offense by recovering a fumble on the first play of UCLA’s second possession. The drive stalled with a 3-and-out, but ended with a 36-yard field goal by Grady Gross.
About six minutes into the second quarter, Nico Iamaleava fumbled on a quarterback run, giving Washington the ball in Bruin territory. Gross tacked on another field goal to give the Huskies a 13-0 lead.
After the Bruins punt with under four minutes to go in the half, Williams threw an interception to Cole Martin on the first play of the drive. Shortly thereafter, on 4th & 15, UCLA’s holder fumbled a toss to the kicker on a fake, which was returned for a touchdown by safety Alex McLaughlin. The ensuing extra point gave Washington a 20-0 lead.
“It was probably too complicated to be honest with you. They were in a block look and then they stemmed out of it,” interim head coach Tim Skipper said. “The communication, on our end, got all jacked up when they stemmed out of it. I’ll take the heat on it.”
McLaughlin was also asked about the bizarre play.
“I was the edge, and I saw him pitching, and I saw a ball on the ground and picked it up, got great blocks from my teammates,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve seen their special teams, they fake a lot of punts, so we were definitely expecting it.”
UCLA’s last chance to score before halftime was squandered by two 10-yard penalties.
Iamaleava exited the game after he was crunched on a sack by two players with 8:44 remaining in the third quarter. Although he was able to walk off under his own power, he immediately went into the blue medical tent.
“When he came out, he went to the tent, then came into the locker room,” Skipper said. “We’ll get updates as we go, but that’s all that I really know.”
Washington took a commanding 34-0 lead on the next drive. With Iamaleava still in the medical tent, redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Duncan entered the game. Duncan’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Matthews gave the Bruins their first points of the game.
“He handled himself well. He went out there and threw the rock,” Skipper said. “It was all positive. Just trying to keep on going.”
After Washington responded with another touchdown drive, Duncan’s second offensive possession stalled on a 3-and-out. Kanye Clark jarred the ball loose from Dezmen Roebuck on the ensuing punt and was returned for a touchdown by Jamir Benjamin.
The celebration was short-lived, as Williams put the game on ice with a 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Decker DeGraaf.
Washington head coach Jedd Fisch was UCLA’s interim head coach for the final two games of the 2017 season. Williams closed the night with four total touchdowns (two passing and two rushing), 213 passing yards, and 56 rushing yards to go along.
“I thought he played really, really well in that second half. I think his completion percentage was
really clean in the second half.”
The Huskies close the regular season at home against Oregon next week.
Senior offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio grew emotional while reflecting on what playing at the Rose Bowl and his five years at UCLA have meant to him.
“These last five years have been amazing. I was super grateful to be at this university and to be able to play in the historic Rose Bowl,” he said. It was just a very high emotional game afterwards too because I have a lot of family here. It’s good having people out and supporting you for the last game.”
Earlier in the day, USC fell to Oregon on the road,almost certainly eliminating the Trojans from College Football Playoff contention. This took away an opportunity for UCLA to play spoiler during rivalry week, which occurs the final week of the regular season. With the Bruins eliminated from bowl season, Saturday’s game between crosstown rivals carries far less weight than in recent years.
Charlie Gonzalez is a volunteer sports reporter for KPFK with experience in sports journalism and broadcasting.
