PASADENA, Calif. — UCLA knew it was in for a challenge facing the nation's second leading rusher in Iowa's Kaleb Johnson.
Not only did the Bruins hold Johnson to his lowest rushing performance of the season, but UCLA's ground game finally got out of first gear.
T.J. Harden had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season and Ethan Garbers threw two touchdown passes as the Bruins rallied for a 20-17 victory on Friday night.
Carson Schwesinger had a pair of interceptions to help UCLA win its third straight.
“We went into this week knowing it was a challenge and we were ready for it,” Schwesinger said.
Harden had 125 yards on 20 carries, the fourth time the junior has eclipsed the century mark in his career. His 15-yard gain up the middle after the 2-minute timeout gave UCLA a first down and put the game away.
“I knew I had to have a game like this. We saw the opportunity we had to run the ball against them,” Harden said. “We did a great job of consistently picking up blocks."
The Bruins had a 415-265 edge in total yards, including 211-80 rushing.
Johnson, who was averaging 142.1 rushing yards per game, had a season-low 49 yards on 18 carries.
“To me, in a nutshell, they ran the ball extremely efficiently, and we didn’t. Really, I think they played in a way they want to play," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.
Quarterback Brendan Sullivan sprained his ankle in the third quarter after taking a hit from UCLA linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo on a pass that was picked off by Schwesinger. Jackson Stratton came in and led the Hawkeyes on a 13-play TD drive, capped by Kamari Moulton’s 2-yard run off left tackle to tie it at 17-17 early in the fourth quarter.
Mateen Bhaghani’s 27-yard field goal with 4:49 remaining put the Bruins up for good. Bhaghani also connected from 57 yards out early in the second quarter for the second-longest field goal in school history.
“We came out and truly executed the way we wanted to," coach DeShaun Foster said. “They took pride in wanting to outrush them and we did that.”
Garbers, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 204 yards, was able to lead the Bruins (4-5, 3-4 Big Ten) to a victory despite three first-half turnovers. His two interceptions in the first quarter, including one in the end zone, resulted in 10 Iowa points. The senior also had a fumble at the Iowa 3-yard line, which was recovered by Jaden Harrell in the end zone as the Bruins came away empty twice in the red zone during the second quarter.
Garbers rallied the Bruins with a pair of TD passes in the second quarter.
After Bhaghani’s first field goal, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala tied it midway through the second quarter on a 2-yard reception that was set up by Schwesinger’s first pick at the Iowa 45. Garbers then connected with a wide-open Logan Loya for a 29-yard touchdown with 55 seconds remaining in the first half.
“Didn’t start the game how I wanted to with the turnovers. We were moving the ball up and down the field fine. I knew all the stuff was there and kept on trusting our guys,” Garbers said.
Iowa took a 7-0 lead three minutes into the game on Johnson's 2-yard run. It was the first time the Hawkeyes scored a touchdown on its opening drive this season.
It also was the junior's 21st touchdown of the season, setting Hawkeyes’ single-season records for touchdowns and points.
“Obviously, a disappointing outcome for us. Just got done telling the team basically, you know, one thing about football, you typically get what you deserve, and we certainly didn’t play well enough to expect to win tonight basically in any category," Ferentz said after Iowa fell to 6-4 and 4-3 in the conference. "So disappointing, and nothing really clicked for us.”
The takeaway
Iowa: The Hawkeyes lost for only the third time in 22 games in November dating back to 2019.
UCLA: After being 1-5 at the midway point, the Bruins have hopes of getting a bowl bid with three straight wins. That would be quite a turnaround after people were already expressing doubts about first-year coach Foster.
Up next
Iowa: At Maryland on Nov. 23.
UCLA: At Washington next Friday.
