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A tale of two halves ends with another heartbreak for UCLA as they lose their fifth game in a row this season. Halftime was the turning point for Minnesota, who turned a 10-0 deficit into a 21-17 win.
The Golden Gophers (4-3, 2-2) had a rough start, ending the first half with only 84 yards on offense.
"I don’t know if I’ve ever talked to a team like that at halftime," Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said. "It was real honest. And it wasn’t negative. It was pumping confidence, belief into all of them, including coaches, because that wasn’t very good in the first half."
The Gophers’ first-half performance was impacted by UCLA's (1-5, 0-4) defense, which recorded six tackles-for-loss and two sacks. Bruins linebacker Carson Schwesinger made three of the tackles and one sack.
"When it comes to stats, maybe I’m the one getting on the stat sheet," Schwesinger said. "But what people don’t see is the front line just eating up double teams, not allowing run-throughs, and DBs (defensive backs) holding down the back end so we don’t have to worry about the pass."
The Bruins' defense significantly slowed down in the second half, adding just one tackle-for-loss and two sacks.
"We’re a one-half team right now," UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said. "I’ve got to find a way to get these guys to come out and approach the second half like they do the first. Until we do that, we’re not gonna be able to get out of our own way, and we’re gonna continue to take losses like this."
Between the halftime talk by coach Fleck and the UCLA defense calming down, Minnesota was able to turn the game around. Scoring three touchdowns in the second half allowed the Gophers to leave Los Angeles with a win.
"It was a matter of simple execution throughout the game," Brosmer said. "It ended up being that last drive where it was really important. The guys buckled down and took it upon themselves to be the reason. They battled throughout the whole game, but ultimately, they executed. We executed in the toughest parts of the game, and defense helped with a big stop at the end too."
UCLA (1-5, 0-4) will travel to New Jersey to take on Rutgers (4-2, 1-2) on Saturday at 9 a.m. PST. Minnesota (4-3, 2-2) will have a bye week before hosting Maryland (3-3, 0-3) on Saturday, October 26.
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