UCLA loses in blowout to Washington in possible Rose Bowl swan song

Someone should check with SoFi Stadium to see if they have rescinded their offer.

In what might have been UCLA’s final game in the Rose Bowl after 43 years there, the Bruins put on the kind of display no one would ever want to relive or put in an album, much less a deal as part of a future plan.

If it was a goodbye, it was a sad goodbye.

There were lost fumbles, a ridiculously bad fake field goal that resulted in a touchdown for the other team, and a dropped pass that likely cost UCLA its own score. And that was just in the first half.

Adding injury to insult, UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava took a hard hit that sidelined him late in the third quarter, ending his difficult return from a concussion that forced him to miss his team’s last game.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava passes in the first half against Washington on Saturday night.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Fortunately, the Bruins only have one game left this season after a 48-14 loss to Washington on Saturday night led to a quickly emptying stadium, with no fond farewells in store for the home fans amid an announced crowd of 38,201 that was too exhausted by the end of the game to boo.

The site of UCLA’s next home game remains as unknown as its next head coach. School officials said they are still considering plans for where the team will play in the future, although that decision could come up in court, given that the Bruins have nearly two decades remaining on a lease at the Rose Bowl that doesn’t expire until the summer of 2044.

It is believed that if school officials have their way, they will move to SoFi Stadium in time for the 2026 season opener. UCLA defensive back Cole Martin, a Pasadena native, didn’t seem happy about the possibility of abandoning 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 plays for the Bruins. “It makes me emotional thinking about it. It’s everything to me, that’s for sure.”

Wherever the Bruins play next season, they will have a lot of improvement to make. They looked lethargic in falling behind 34-0 on Saturday while making one mistake after another en route to a fourth straight loss.

“We just couldn’t stop the bleeding, you know? » said UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper.

By the time he entered the game, backup quarterback Luke Duncan couldn’t do much except make the final score slightly more palatable. He was successful on that front, throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Matthews late in the third quarter that helped UCLA (3-8 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) avoid a shutout.

There was another highlight for the Bruins early in the fourth quarter when Kanye Clark forced a fumble on Washington’s punt return, allowing Jamir Benjamin to recover the ball and run 13 yards for a touchdown.

But make no mistake: the Huskies completely dominated (8-3, 5-3), who accumulated 426 offensive yards while limiting the Bruins to 207 yards, including only 57 yards on the ground.

Washington alumnus and comedian Joel McHale performed a short recorded piece that was posted on the scoreboard before the game, but the real burlesque was about to come.

The Bruins coughed up two fumbles in the first half and would have lost a third had the Huskies not been called for a defensive hold on the play, negating the turnover.

“Turnovers are always going to kill you,” Skipper said, “so we have to find a way to fix that going into next week.”

UCLA quarterback Luke Duncan throws in the second half against Washington on Saturday.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

UCLA receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala dropped what could have been a touchdown pass at the Huskies’ 38-yard line with nothing but an open field in front of him.

But there was no mistake 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 flipped the ball over his shoulder as kicker Mateen Bhaghani spun behind him, the ball hitting the turf instead of Bhaghani’s hands.

Washington’s Alex McLaughlin got the ball and ran 59 yards for a touchdown that put the Huskies ahead, 20-0.

Skipper said the Huskies showed a look in their downfield defense before pulling away from it before the snap, causing chaos for the Bruins.

“The communication on our end was completely disrupted when they came out of it,” Skipper said, “so I’ll take the heat from that – it was probably too complicated, there was too much communication and we miscommunicated and that’s what happened.”

Things never really got better, the Bruins drifted away with no refuge in sight.