Someone should check with SoFi Stadium to see if they've rescinded their offer.
In what could have been UCLA's last game at the Rose Bowl after 43 years of calling this place home, the Bruins showcased the kind of look no one would ever want to relive or keep in a scrapbook, let alone sell as part of a future plan.
If it was goodbye, then it was a sad farewell.
There were failed attempts, a ridiculously bad fake field goal that resulted in a touchdown for the other team, and a failed pass that probably cost UCLA your account. And this was only in the first half.
Adding insult to insult, UCLA guard Niko Yamaleava suffered a devastating hit that knocked him out of the game late in the third quarter, ending his difficult return from a concussion that forced him to miss his team's last game.
UCLA guard Niko Yamaleava passes the ball during the first half against Washington on Saturday night.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Luckily, the Bruins only have one game left this season after Lost 48-14 to Washington. Saturday night saw a rapidly emptying stadium, with no fond farewells for the home crowd to be given among the announced crowd of 38,201, which was too exhausted by the end of the game to boo.
The location of UCLA's next home game remains as unknown as its next head coach. School officials said they are still mulling plans for where the team will play in the future, although that decision could be at the discretion of the court given that the Bruins have nearly two decades remaining on their Rose Bowl lease, which doesn't expire until the summer of 2044.
The thinking is that if school officials have their way, they will do it. move to SoFi Stadium just in time for the 2026 season to open. UCLA defensive back Cole Martin, a Pasadena native, didn't seem happy about the prospect of giving up the Rose Bowl as his home stadium.
“The Rose Bowl means a lot to me,” said Martin, whose second-quarter interception was one of the few big moments for the Bruins. “I get emotional thinking about it. Of course, that's it for me.”
Wherever the Bruins play next season, they will have a lot of improvement to do. They looked lethargic as they fell behind 34-0 on Saturday, making one mistake after another en route to a fourth straight defeat.
“We just couldn’t stop the bleeding, you know?” UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper said.
By the time he entered the game, backup was scarce. defender Luke Duncan could do other than make the final result a little more acceptable. He succeeded in this, completing a 37-yard pass. Mikey Matthews late in the third quarter, it helped UCLA (3–8 overall, 3–5 Big Ten) avoid a shutout.
The Bruins had another big moment early in the fourth quarter when Kanye Clark forced Washington to fumble the punt return, allowing Jamir Benjamin pick up the ball and run 13 yards for a touchdown.
But make no mistake: It was complete dominance by the Huskies (8-3, 5-3), who amassed 426 yards of offense while holding the Bruins to 207 yards, including just 57 rushing yards.
Washington graduate and comedian Joel McHale performed a short recorded segment that was shown on the scoreboard before the game, but the real farce was about to ensue.
The Bruins forced two fumbles in the first half and would have lost the third had the Huskies not called for a defensive hold on the play that would have negated the turnovers.
“Turnover always kills you,” Skipper said, “so we have to find a way to fix that by early next week.”
UCLA guard Luke Duncan shoots the ball during the second half against Washington on Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala dropped what could have been a touchdown pass at the Huskies' 38-yard line with nothing but open field in front of him.
But there was no mistake quite like the one that occurred when the Bruins lined up for a 46-yard field goal late in the second quarter. Holder Cash Peterman took the snap and threw the ball over his shoulder as a kicker Matin Bhagani circled behind him, the ball hit the turf and not Bhagani's hands.
Washington's Alex McLaughlin picked up the ball and ran 59 yards for a touchdown that gave the Huskies a 20-0 lead.
Skipper said the Huskies showed one look in their field goal defense before moving away from it before the snap, causing chaos for the Bruins.
“Communication on our end completely broke down when they pulled out because of it,” Skipper said, “so I'll take the criticism – it was probably too hard, it was too much communication and we communicated incorrectly and that's what happened.”
Things never improved and the Bruins were left without a home.
