The UCLA Bruins fell to the No. 8 Oregon Ducks in their first matchup since leaving the Pac-12 Conference after the 2023 season. The UCLA dominant 43,000+ crowd at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA was let down early as Oregon took clear control beginning in the first quarter.
Ducks’ quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to star wide receiver Traeshon Holden. This was the first of 3 TD passes from Gabriel. Gabriel ended the night with an impressive stat line of 31/41 on passes attempted, 278 passing yards, and 3 TDs.
Coming into this game, Gabriel, a sixth-year senior, had 15,779 pass yards in total over his career at 3 different schools. He played his first 3 years with the University of Central Florida then transferred to Oklahoma where he played 2 seasons before transferring to Oregon for the 2024 season.
The Bruins did not have as good of luck with their quarterback, Ethan Garbers, who completed 12 of 20 attempted passes, throwing for 118 yards with 2 interceptions. This performance was quite a letdown from his impressive game on September 19th against LSU where Garbers completed 22 of 36 passes for 281 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Garbers, unfortunately, left the game during the 4th quarter with an apparent ankle injury after the senior was sacked four times by the Ducks’ defense. Sophomore quarterback Justyn Martin came in to replace him, completing 1 pass for 7 yards.
The Bruins’ only touchdown came at the end of the 1st half on a mistake from Ducks’ quarterback, Gabriel, after he threw a 96-yard ‘pick-six’ interception to Bruins senior defensive back, Bryan Addison, beginning his career at UCLA after transferring from Oregon.
The Ducks’ offense proved dominant, ending the game with 278 passing yards and 153 rushing yards over the Bruins’ 127 passing yards and 47 yards on the ground.
Based in Los Angeles, California, Martin is a freelance photographer with Martin26Photos, specializing in sports and portrait photography. He has made a name for himself in Southern California’s sports photojournalism scene, covering local high school and college events as well as media days. With experience capturing high-profile Division 1 athletics, Martin aims to expand his work to professional sports in the near future.
