LOS ANGELES — UCLA snapped its losing streak against Fresno State with a 20-13 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday at the Rose Bowl Stadium on Senior Day.
The win was the Bruins’ second of the season at the Rose Bowl and ends a two-game skid after losses to Washington and USC. It also sends head coach DeShaun Foster out with a win in his first season at the helm.
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers completed 26 of 40 passes or 289 yards and a touchdown in his final collegiate game. Tight end Moliki Matavao, who also took part in the Senior Day celebration, finished with a game-high 120 receiving yards on eight catches.
Redshirt junior Anthony Frias II was UCLA’s leading rusher with 43 yards on 13 carries.
Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene went 30 for 43 with 219 yards with a touchdown.
The Bulldogs had won four straight games against the Bruins heading. They scored a touchdown and hit a field goal in the opening half to take a 10-6 lead at the break despite a UCLA defense that consistently made plays.
Keene, who has started every game this season, threaded a pass down the middle to a sprinting Raylen Sharpe in the back of the end zone. Kicker Dylan Lynch drilled a 48-yard field goal with 1:18 left until halftime to secure a four-point lead.
UCLA didn’t score its first touchdown until the third quarter after multiple penalties got the Bruins close enough for two field goals but held them too far away to reach the paint.
Matavao was a reliable target all afternoon. His biggest catch was a 35-yard rocket from Garbers to get UCLA to the 5-yard line. T.J. Harden ran through a wide-open gap cleared by the offensive line to pull the Bruins ahead 13-10 for just the fourth rushing touchdown of the season for the Bruins.
UCLA’s run defense, which came into the game ranked seventh in college football, shut down Fresno State’s rushing attack and left the pass rush to get to work. The linebacking corps, whose self-proclaimed goal is to create havoc, was everywhere at once.
Kain Medrano made two straight tackles to slow Fresno State’s first drive of the second quarter. Carson Schwesinger blocked a punt, but the Bulldogs recovered the ball and started at the 40-yard line before scoring a touchdown.
Schwesinger broke up a pass and followed up with a sack for a loss of seven yards on Fresno State’s next possession to force a three-and-out.
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UCLA had a scoring opportunity late in the third quarter when a 10-yard run by Frias put the Bruins in a fourth-and-1 situation at the 9-yard line. Garbers made a quick pass to sophomore fullback Leo Kemp, who was playing in his second game, but Kemp dropped the ball just short of the end zone.
J.Michael Sturdivant tacked on a final touchdown to extend the lead when he grabbed a two-yard pass from Garbers in the back of the end zone with 1:38 left.
Fresno State’s Dylan Lynch tacked on a 42-yard field goal with 31 seconds left, but the Bulldogs were not able to convert a last-gasp onside kick.