UCLA taken down by Washington to snap winning streak

It was a tough night for the UCLA Bruins as they were soundly defeated 31-19 by the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium on Friday night.

Despite struggles from Washington starting quarterback Will Rogers, who was benched in the second half, backup Desmond Williams Jr. finished strong to seal the victory.

Rogers, who was 13/21 with just 115 yards and 2 interceptions, was replaced by Williams in the middle of the third quarter. The freshman delivered a clutch performance, completing 7 of 8 passes for 67 yards with a passing touchdown to Decker DeGraaf.

Williams also proved to be a factor on the ground, rushing for 31 yards on 6 attempts.

For the Bruins, it was the lack of rushing effectiveness and QB protection which led to the majority of their struggles. Quarterback Ethan Garbers struggled to stay upright, getting sacked six times, with three of those coming at the hands of Russell Davis II. 

Garbers completed 27/44 passes for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

Despite the impressive job, the UCLA run game was simply nowhere to be found. Running backs T.J. Harden and Keegan Jones rushed for a mere 37 yards on 17 combined carries.

In total, the Bruins manufactured just 52 rushing yards on 33 attempts. With just 1.6 yards per carry, the heavy reliance on the passing game did not end up being a recipe for success.

It was a drastic turn in performance for the offensive line, which surrendered a season-best 0 sacks in the squad's previous game against Iowa. This time around, they conceded a season-high six of them, and Garbers was forced to scramble around for much of the evening.

The senior was forced to rush 14 times, totaling just 2 yards.

The Husky defense also managed to force and recover two fumbles, bringing a strong presence for the majority of the game.

It was a slow start for the Bruins, with the lone score of the first quarter coming on a Washington rushing touchdown from Jonah Coleman. The junior running back found the end zone twice on Friday night, rushing for 95 yards on 21 carries in the process.

UCLA managed to get on the board in the second with an early field goal before Washington responded by finding Keleki Latu in the end zone with 3:46 left in the half. However, Garbers led a nice drive to help the Bruins find the end zone, connecting through the air with Kwazi Gilmer at just 51 seconds left.

The game headed to halftime as the Huskies led 14-10. 

In the second half, the Washington defense took over to lead them to victory. The only scores of the half for the Bruins came on an early field goal from Mateen Bhaghani and a touchdown pass to Moliki Matavao with just nine seconds remaining in the game.

Meanwhile, Williams Jr. led back-to-back touchdown drives for the Huskies late in the fourth to shut the door on the Bruins. Before the late touchdown catch from UCLA's Matavao, Washington had opened up a 31-13 lead.

The UCLA defense did manage to secure two picks of their own, with Kain Medrano and Devin Kirkwood doing their best to keep the squad in the game. They could not, however, seem to find the answers after Huskies' first-year coach Jedd Fisch made the switch at quarterback.

Washington continued their reign of dominance at home, now having won 20 consecutive games at Husky Stadium. The streak will officially carry into the 2026 season, with the team's final game of the season next week being on the road against the Oregon Ducks.

As for UCLA, they will gear up for a huge game next Saturday against the USC Trojans back at the Rose Bowl. Sitting 4-6 with two games left to play, the Bruins will need to take down their arch-rivals to remain alive for bowl game eligibility.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.