Bruin Bible: Recapping UCLA Football's Concerning And Thrilling 16-13 Win Over Hawaii

what is up guys and welcome out to the LA football network we got bruan Bible in the building guys we're going to wait for it to kind of get some more people in here we'll wait like a minute or so to kind of talk about our thoughts but man what a game that was mad man and I were on the edge of our seats the entire game we actually watched the game together which was amazing uh just an absolute blast so we're gonna wait hope you're enjoying the Indian food Thriller you know or there may be some post game Indian food you know post post potting Indian food you know you need it man post pot this is what's getting me through it this postgame Indian food that was you know baked up by Jamal's beautiful mother I'm just about to love it so it's gonna be amazing got some good food in me uh but let's just dive into it man UCLA survives a 16-13 game in Hawaii and Honolulu and man we went through the game D of emotions watching the game together first half was some of the most inconsistent play I've seen in four years of covering UCL football it was just a complete mindbending performance you know the defense couldn't get to the quarterback Ethan garbers and here's the statline for his first half six of 19 for 69 yards and probably two of the most backbreaking interceptions you'll ever see the first one being you know in the red zone five yards from The End Zone you know just costing the team a field goal at the early parts of the game and the second one a combination of play calling and you know where he was at um you know was getting wrestled to the ground just kind of flung it up there intercepted deep in our own territory they capitalized get a field goal nothing was going right in the first half on both sides of the football we were committing dumb penalties they made some big plays where were we at in the first half mad man because we were together watching the game we were sweating bullets in your living room it was as Bleak as it's been for you and I watching the Bruins together and as long as I can remember man a thriller I mean I it I it was sort of speechless in that first half because nothing went right it was just whether it was offense whether it was defense whether it was special teams whether it was Game management I mean it was sort of an F across the board you said at best will from a passing game perspective Garber six of 19 69 yards two interceptions the first interception was inside the Hawaii 10 yard line the second interception was inside the UCLA 10 yard line I mean the two worst places to have interceptions one both of which totally swung the game from a scoreboard perspective the first took points away from UCLA and the second gave Hawaii points and that really led to that 10 nothing situation and then when you sort of conversely look at it will 19 passes only seven runs in the first half totally imbalanced I mean you're talking about three quarters to one quarter there and of course Garber is being the leading rusher in in the first half and overall in this game so from an offensive perspective things just didn't really make a lot of sense and then defensively what was so puzzling a the concern that we had will coming into this game played itself out a little bit about UCLA's inability to set the edge uh and also kind of generate a credible pass rush but then also there was just a a vast amount of zone defense being played various cushions of five yards sevenard yards nine yards to this quartet quintet of receivers and this run and shoot Hawaii offense looked like pitch and catch out there and truthfully in the first half well Hawaii was Their Own Worst Enemy I mean it was a combination of undisciplined penalties with some drop passes with quarterback shagger kind of maybe throwing the ball a little bit too hot I mean if you can only imagine if they just kind of make the throws they need to and make the catches they need to this thing could have been a whole lot worse and then you look at the special team situation will obviously a miss field goal in the first half a 19 yard punt in the first half obviously Hawaii does a fake punt that totally changes the momentum of that first possession and really put UCLA on their heels and then you look at the game management Piece Will I mean there was that moment obviously before the field goal uh the the the 51 yard attempt it was fourth and four at the Hawaii 34 yard line you know Deshawn calls a timeout and then chooses to bring the field goal team out of there there was a play in terms of an off sides that you know we we declined the penalty in terms of instead of it going fourth and four we go back to Third and nine so the game management just didn't make any sense at all and I remember you and I were there after that great interception by UCLA 20 seconds to go at the six I said well let's just kind of take a knee and regroup and then I see garbers and shotgun going back out there and I just couldn't believe the decision making by Ethan garbers but then also the decision to even set up a pass play given the way that went with 20 seconds to go at your own six yard line so offense defense special teams game management all had such significant holes will it just didn't really make any sense the worst possible first half I think we could have expected yeah it was terrible and I think the concerning part that actually bled into the second half is just the uncertainty we have with the offensive line moving forward you're asking a lot for me personally this is the unit that it takes a long time to gel you know these are guys that are lining up next to each other it's almost like synchronized swimming on a football field type of thing you have to all be in unison in all different motions makah heli was out of his element today un went down with an injury this is on top of Garrett deorio already being out of the game for undisclosed injuries that we do not know what's going on there so I am a little concerned and chaotic with that it was obvious that the Run game was not where it should have been Ethan garbers was the leading rusher of our team today you know TJ Harden couldn't really find his Lanes Keegan had that one nice run that went for 11 yards but you know for that to be the longest run for UCLA fans like ourselves that have watched you know Chip Kelly Run offense the past few years I'm not asking for him back I'm just saying he runs a good offense when it comes to the rushing game itself so it's just tough to kind of see how that plays out to to be good in the Big 10 we're going to have to have some semblance of a run game so I'm very concerned about that obviously we flipped the script in the second half we've scored 16 you know uh points in the second half matine bugani coming out of nowhere this kicker from Cal man I mean just a legend this guy knocks down three big love bugani at UCLA man a big big fan especially if you look at what we were are last year at the special teams right one of the worst teams in terms of the kick game last year when was between you know 30 yards wherever it was you had bani who looked lights out you know under 45 and under you know when Blake Lesnar missed that 51 yard I know it was a far kick but I'm like man are we going to really do this all over again just to have bani as an absolute weapon out there garbers actually comes out and plays really well in the second half you know throws for over 200 yards and a half which is no easy Feats he had some help man Rico Flores your guy all throughout spring made a beautiful 39 yard touchdown catch on a you know even prettier throw from garbage I think that was kind of the play that got him back in Rhythm to realize you know what I am the man here at UCLA I got to step up even more impress impressive was that play where garbers is kind of alluding the pass rush the last second on the right sideline hits Flores in motion Flores takes a 53 yards we thought he was going to go to the house it was still an epic play nonetheless but the offense got clicking and you know we made that prediction man where if garbers does reach a ceiling he could lead you know the Big 10 in passing it looks very much in play with how many passing plays were called for UCLA what do you make of garbers his second half performance because I thought he looked really locked in in the second half and it made some things happen for this UCL offense absolutely will I mean the second half was a lot more of the Ethan garbers that we expected and I think what started it all even though the running game was not effective but just the willingness to run the ball more in the second half will I thought was a real game Cher obviously we talked about the 19 throws and the Seven rushes in the first half that was flipped now to 19 throws 13 rushes in the second half with an Eric bamy offense like we've talked about we are never going to get to parody the way it was with chip it's always going to be kind of 6040 throw overrun but you want to make sure that it's at least 6040 and not 8020 or 8515 and I think that's going to be the delicate balance UCLA is going to have to play with this year because when you looked at garbers look that beautiful throw that you talked about D Rico Flores that 39 yard strike guess what that was under Center off a play action earlier on that drive a couple of straight handoffs to harden a couple of straight handoffs to Keegan and then Ethan was was keeping it on on a couple scrambles uh as well so even though the Run game wasn't effective just having to play honestly defensively really opened up that play and then the subsequent throw to Flores will that you talked about again it was garber's ability to be able to run the ball outside the hash marks and scramble that made Hawaii's defense collapse because they thought he was going to takeoff and run at the very last second he was probably half a yard to a yard from that line of scrimmage that quick flip to Flores Flores does all that work down the right sideline for the 53 yards you mentioned and then I think the last Drive will when it was you know the game-winning drive if you will again there was a really nice mix between being in the shotgun and again on play action you know there was there was a couple of plays there he found Flores on a Crosser he found uh stavan on a deep dig you know obviously the plays with matal so you know that's where I think the combination where I think bemy realized look I can't just have him in shotgun all day long I need to have him a little bit under Center and I need to use the run to set up the pass even if I'm not running effectively I just need to kind of keep the defense honest in that particular way that along with a couple of Swing passes out the start event early in that second half getting the ball out quickly seeing the ball completed I think got him back in Rhythm to be the Ethan garbers that we know will so I think moving forward hopefully BM takes the good from the second half and says look even if I'm not running it effectively the offensive line will really disappointing with makah heli and un those were our two big gets after spring you can recall we were very concerned after spring practice of where this offensive line was unaj and makahi were the two big reinforcements both of them seem to be struggling to find their own so this offensive line is now looking closer to what we thought in the spring than what we thought in Fall camp and so as a result of that the running game is going to be some tough sledding here the next couple of weeks until this offensive line hopefully starts clicking but even if you get stuffed even if it's one yard two yards just the ACT I think of running the ball will help set up that play action and once you give garbers those passing lanes and he has kind of Clear Vision you can see it will the ball just comes out of his hands so beautifully there's so much zip on the ball he overthrew a ton of balls a lot of balls were real fast balls but you can see just the purity of the throw there so really exciting what I saw from Ethan garbers in the second half that was what we were expecting more of really to start this game yeah and I mean we saw the stat actually at the beginning of the game they they showed what garbers did on play action last year you had a qbr rating of 95 plus seven touchdowns one interception last year when it came to him in play action like scenarios so from a play action standpoint if you can just establish some semblance of a run game where the defense is believing that's a run play it opens it up for garbers to be at his best we need that run game to be locked in and we talked about it here uh you know watching the game in your living room today man remember the Bowling Green offensive line in 2022 we were concerned bro like multiple false starts was an ugly game it took DTR kind of running with like a chicken with his head cut off type of scenario I think he had like a 75 yard touchdown run that game but we're like we the big takeaway from that game was wow this offensive line is not very good they had lost Shawn Ryan the year before they had lost Alec Anderson as well but they whipped into shape and were one of the best units in the Pack 12 by season end I'm hoping for a similar scenario with the talent put in there and they do have to learn how to play with one another but man I uh we need to Georgio back that's all I got to say to that when it comes the offensive line let's move on to the defense bro because I thought the defense you know the first half was concerning with the run and shoot which I will give is a very tough offense to defend really quick hit passes you can't really generate a pass rush when it's just a three-step drop get the ball out quick kind of what they do with Timmy changen down there in Hawaii but what I will say is that second half defense showed up and showed out and there was a lot of different guys we can talk about but I think the guys we got to start with Kane Madrono and we we did the thing in you know at the last podcast where it was who's the player you're looking forward to seeing most when it comes to this game my first pick and you were like hey that would have been my first pick if we had taken him Kane madono was freaking awesome and the stats won't reflect everything he did he had that one huge hit on Braden shager that led to an interception with DJ Justice made a critical tackle for the loss in the backfield he felt like he was all over the football field I was so nervous when he went to the sidelines initially with just a stinger thankfully but got back in the game and made some plays it felt like everything started on this defense with our guy Kane talk to me about what K adron about this team because he was out standing today no will absolutely outstanding and he was that Lynch spin that we needed in the second half and I think again Madrono is going to be that Rover he's going to play linebacker some he's going to slide down in the edge some we even had him kind of standing up in the interior some and so I think he's going to be that game changer really G to step into kind of that lot to Rover roll here in the front seven you said it best will the stats may not reflect it but his impact in terms of being able to read the defense being able to read where the holes were going where Hawaii wanted to go with the ball and often times with Kane Madrono it was the equivalent of the hockey assist it was him kind of being able to win his one-on-one battle or him being able to get to a spot before a Rainbow Warrior could that allowed secondary and tertiary players to ultimately make the final tackle or the final play you mentioned the big hit on shager that led to the G DJ Justice interception that was a huge game Cher but also just his presence will and you know he's got that that famous Green Dot on the back of his helmet so he's the one that Malloy is talking to up until 15 seconds left on the play clock so his ability to call out the defense really get everyone in the right position but then also read and react to plays was absolutely significant he was terrific on the edge and really started to sort of establish a bit of a pass rush for UCLA he was terrific in the Box in terms of containing Hawaii in in the moments when they tried to run the ball to kind change things up and just was the instrumental leader there will and I think what helped is Kane madan's performance in the second half I think coincided with AA malloy's ability to disguise formations more you know the first half was very much Zone guys were playing off receivers you know in a significant way it was four you know four rushers not a lot of pressure it was almost kind of a prevent defense second half Malloy sometimes put five in the Box on the line sometimes six drop back a couple guys would drop back sometimes he'd bring four and then bring the pressure with that corner Blitz with another guy I'm sure we're going to talk about in a second and then oftentimes other you'd see six on the line and then two guys would Retreat back so he really kind of disguised what he wanted to do in a much more significant way and that coincided with madan's performance in the second half because Madrono is that guy that you can disguise and do so many different things because he's equally effective as a pass rusher as he is as as a linebacker on that second level of the defense he can play in the Box he can come off the edge so I think there's an ingredient that's been found here will with Malloy that the key to this UCLA defense even if they're not going to be physically imposing on the edges in terms of the pass rush from a horizontal perspective is the way you overcome that is you got to disguise what you're doing and you got to disguise what you're doing with Kan Madrono he was absolutely Sensational and quite honestly in many ways the MVP of the game yeah and you know I I want to give a a hat tip to Ka Malloy too because that second half defense allowing three points keeping them in the ball game getting critical stops making wonderful disguises and adjustments to a run and shoot offense we had no idea what was coming I want to give him credit because I think the Testament of a great defensive coordinator is how you make adjustments at halftime when your team can't figure stuff out he kind of got them in the lock room got them right in the second half I thought he had a great job and two things were evidently clear for me man our linebacking room for the talent we have in that room is outstanding I mean Olaf femo ad deel had that critical fourth down stop in the first half Ali Kow making the big sack of the game today you know forcing the ball out on that sack I thought he was phenomenal and even just bringing in a John John Vons where as a hybrid you know line back he is Elite in pass coverage the linebacking room and the wide receiver room are our two strengths and the two weaknesses offensive line as it stands right now the edge rushing I mean man we cannot get Edge rushing without sending five to six guys it's going to be very similar to some of the defenses we had in previous years where we're sending like five six seven guys I don't know if I want that but that's might be necessary to generate pass rush if this is the unit we have as it stands so a little concerning there um another guy I want to bring up on the defensive side of the ball KJ Wallace was really good today man two tackles for a loss sack made a beautiful pass deflection on that one that looked like the guy nearly brought down at the end on a critical you know third down situation I just really liked what I saw from him Wallace looks like a tough player smart player we sent him in on a blitz he did his job as well as anyone on the field talk to me about your impressions of KJ Wallace because I thought this kid is a legit you know impact player for U's defense in day one will I couldn't agree with you more and that's who I was alluding to when I said we're probably going to talk about him later in the show and it was certainly KJ Wallace and what I love about him is he got into receivers when he needed to uh in terms of being able to make the pass defenses at critical moments he had really good technique over the course of the game short tackler and then what I also loved will was just his ability to come on those corner blitzes and we talked about it earlier how are you going to disguise pressure it's going to have to be pressure by committee this year and you're not just going to be able to line up and beat guys one-on-one off the edge we just don't have the Personnel for it it's that simple and so how do you generate a pass rush you're GNA have to do it with disguises like we talked about with Madrono part of those disguises are bringing Corner pressure and not a lot of guys you know that's an art to be able to Blitz off of the secondary you have to be sort of straight line you got to be really balanced you can't lose contain and totally whiff and Wallace did an absolutely phenomenal job of that multiple times we brought Wallace in critical situations to generate some pressure and either he directly made the play or his ability to get shager off of his spot led to uh you know the sacks from some of the other players I thought he was absolutely terrific and hopefully this can sort of translate because his ability to be a ball Hawk his ability to tackle and his ability to Blitz you know that's three tools in the tool set will that not a lot of guys have in the secondary we love Davies we love Kirkwood we love some of these other guys but truth be told I don't think they all they have the the robustness of skill set of a KJ Wallace this guy can kind of do it all and I think Madrono and Wallace are starting to sort of separate themselves of course with femi as kind of the three guys that maybe you need to build this defense around from a schematic perspective yeah one more shout out too and then we're going to do some game balls ronee Henderson the trans Dame as huge inter in the first half unfortunately the play calling did not help us out on the other end of that but got into the back field got made a sack in his own right made some pass breakups in the secondary he was all over the football field today and just to kind of get that impact player I mean not only to get one but we got two from Notre Dame like that and maybe Michael cared comes in here in a second and takes maybe the right or left tackle spot with un or deorio out I just want to give a huge thank you to Notre Dame for giving us some of these players Henderson was awesome he looks like you know a very competent safety and a guy that may be challenging you know for All Conference measures if he plays like that moving forward talk to me about our guy R Ramone Henderson my guy oh he was absolutely terrific will and I think in a lot of ways really that first half we walked away down 10 nothing and said you know the way this game went it could have easily been 14 nothing 17 nothing 21 nothing and in very ably the reason it wasn't in that first half was because of Henderson and I think he did such a phenomenal job both in pass coverage an electric interception um and I think just overall his physicality invariably whenever you saw a tackle in the secondary particularly in that first half it was his number that was being called he was kind of the one guy will that really actually played aggressively in the first half everybody else was just so soft in that zone um that you know it took a half to sort of be a aded he did an absolutely phenomenal job and like you say you can't win the game in the first half but you can certainly lose it we thankfully we had in just enough guys to keep the game close enough where 10 points was very manageable to be able to overcome in the second half and he was certainly a huge reason why I love it well we got two awards that we've kind of been plotting and scheming on if anyone knows us outside the podcast we're known for two different things man we we have these slogans that we say madman always teases me when something's not going right I always go ah not ideal so we're gonna give the not ideal award to something that goes on in the game um and then if anyone knows madman his favorite movie from his childhood one of my favorites the Great Space Jam and it's the scene where Michael Jordan is at the plate he swings and misses he strikes out a bunch but the coaches are kind of talking to themselves going hey man you can't teach it he looks great in that uniform he can't teach it so we're gonna have the can't teach it award and the not ideal award and I'm going to give it to my gu to give me the can't teach it award what was the can't teach it moment for UCLA football today out there against wide well I mean the can't teach it moment I mean good I mean there there were there were a lot of them in that first half but you know I I think you and I both kind of looked at that punting game between you know Barry and RoR I mean you know a couple of those punts I mean you know good grief and and you know obviously the first one was 19 yards but then a few of them you know kind of caught the right bounce and and got to even 71 yards was one punt you know so you know you can't teach the bounces will and so you know the the can't teach it for me uh is really what sort of that punting game that in some critical moments in the game where UCLA was still struggling to find itself to be able to maintain it to be a seven-point game maintain it to be a 10-point game and the ability to flip that field uh you know the punting game was sort of a can't teent moment because it's pure luck you know this isn't sort of an oval symmetric ball we're dealing with here that ball could have easily bounced the other way 20 yards and we could be having a whole different conversation so for those reasons you know you can't teach the puning you know and so that's what I'm gonna be going with can't teach it I love it and for the non ideal award man I'm just gonna have to give it to our Run game when your quarterback who's not even listed as like a dual thread guy like dominates the running game so he was seven carries 47 yards Keegan Jones our next closest Runner had three carries for 13 you know the team just did not function on the Run game 20 carries as a team 71 yards 3.6 yards a carry I mean just not ideal man like we need to get this offense aligned together man and that that starts with it you know allowing the Run game to do what it does and make big open field plays you know TJ Harden was not great today man nine carries for nine yards like that is something that you know is going to be unacceptable and we're going to be playing way better defenses coming up soon so not ideal that the Run game did not come together all right we've reached the game ball segments I want to hear game balls we're each going to get three of them you know I think this will be a fun one first game ball I'm going gonna give to you brother you gotta lead me off who is the first game ball you'd be giving it to if you were in the locker room with UCLA threr you know obviously we've talked about some guys and I think they're going to be getting some Hardware here in terms of what was mentioned but I got to go with my guy Rico Flores Jr right I mean he's my guy I I you know he was sort of the guy I singled out over the course the spring as someone who was potentially going to be a game breaker for UCLA three catches 102 yards in the touchdown obviously the two biggest plays Will of the game you mention it the 39 y that got UCLA off the board you know on the scoreboard from from zero in the entire first half to seven and then that second flip play that got UCLA to 13 to10 the two I think single biggest offensive plays for UCLA that set the stage for that finale and then he had that great Crossing yard where he Dove for that first down on that final drive so three catches 102 yards touchdown my guy Rico Flores Jr got to give him the game ball I love it man that is a tough one to top Rico was as advertised man he was the second leading receiver on Notre Dame last year as a red shirt freshman only got three catches 102 yards in a tutty man so he was outstanding lot of different ways you can go with the first game ball just for how much the offense I think had to account for him it was my first pick coming to the game I got to give it to Kane morono guy is an athlete out there making plays former wide receiver now at the linebacking position and I mean that hit he put on Trager to force the interception what a game turning moment that was I just think he is one of like the four guys I'm confident in that are going to get drafted to the NFL the next level he and your dad said on the couch today he's our new latu for this year he's our most important defensive player so I got to give credit where credits to K Madrono is outstanding today and we don't come away with a victory without him first game ball came madono no question about it will couldn't agree with you more there what an absolute stud and and and a total Game Changer and I think my my third game ball will or the third overall game ball I should say I we got to go with KJ Wallace I mean the seven tackles you know the two tackles for loss the sack I mean he was all over the field and really kind of stabilized that defense with Madrono if Madrono was really kind of focused on bringing impact levels one and two in a lot of ways it was KJ Wallace was bringing impact levels one and three right as as a Blitzer and then on the back end so I don't think we come out of this game with a victory without KJ Wallace I think he was that instrumental so game ball goes to our guy KJ Wallace love it man he was on the short list 100% you know there's some ways I can go with this next pick but you know what give it to me Ali K we have not seen this guy in three years makes a huge play with the sack late in the game had a pass deflection this was a guy we've been excited about for a very very long time I had kind of given up on the whole experiment of him maybe coming back in playing not only does he come back nearly three years to the day he's playing the same opponent gets a huge critical sack down the line I mean Kow just what he adds for this linebacking unit it makes us in my opinion one of the top 20 25 units in the entire country when it comes to linebacking room and K if he plays like that moving forward we're going to be tough to beat on those four linebackers so I will give me I'll take oi k out man I thought it was great to have him back made some impact plays and he looks like he's here to stay if he's healthy man so give me some Kow on that I love it I love it will and Kow was absolutely phenomenal really kind of in that in that middle spot you know he won some battles he lost some battles but he was absolutely phenomenal today to your point in a real stabilizing force and will we need it I I think that you know we need our three or four or five guys defensively that we've sort of pointed out to really step up because I just don't know if the depth is there defensively particularly in that front seven so K's going to play a significant role this year and let's pray for his health and wellness over the course of this season that he can put a full 12 13 game body of work together and really see where it can be you know you know what it felt like too as a fan of the Warriors when Klay Thompson came back after like three yearsing and the crowd went nuts and everyone was going nuts man K had a similar vibe to that where it's like oh my God he's playing he's back like we have not seen this in so long it was just the excitement he made some big time stops for this defense just a lot to love there with Mr Question brother no question my my last game ball brother could go here a couple of number of ways you know fadia was terrific you know he had his moments some pass deflections you know he he got to the the the the quarterback as well with that pass rush I think moving forward uh uh you know Malloy is gonna now have to think about it really I think the two most effective pass rushers on this team are madano and Olio and so how do you sort of you know factor that in with both of them needing to be linebackers as well I think that's going to be sort of an interesting game of chess that Malloy is going to need to play so Olio had his moments but I'm gonna go with an unsung hero here will you know unsung hero maybe a non-traditional hero but the guy that literally won the game matine bagani the kicker okay from Cal three for three for from the in terms of from the field goal perspective and then two very critical kicks will obviously one to tie the game and then one ultimately to win the game there late in the third early in the fourth you know pressure cooker there you know it doesn't matter how much the distance is when you've got to be able to win the game Anything Can Happen we've seen kicks go arai with UCLA over the years but gani came through in the clutch very decorated kicker out of Cal I think Will has coined a new nickname for him that I absolutely love matin Bugatti bani okay that's my guy that's my third game ball to the great kicker to to bring it home for us man we gotta run back that old rap song I woke up in a new bugani bani going crazy we love it man that's a great pick that's a great final pick I think the last one for me man uh you know what I'm gonna do it I'm gonna do it first half was rough for him but just the way he was able to bounce back and look like his old true self I'm going to give it to Ethan garbers I know some people might hate on this pick because of how it was an atrocious first half that's probably the worst stretch I've ever seen garbers play but it was very similar to just someone kind of busting out of a slump he drove over 200 yards in the second half guys like he was very on points the ball was flying out of his hands I really liked what he was able to build in confidence wise and Leadership Wise by saying hey I may not be at my best but we got to find a way to win this game and that's exactly what they did led the team in rushing as well so you kind of put that feather in his cap led the final drive to get them into field goal range I it wasn't perfect but he got it done and if he plays like he played in the second half I mean this passing attack is going to be electric so garbers is my finals pick well I love that pick you know and and obviously it it's it's easy to sort of criticize and and hate on on some struggles but a couple things really stood out to me with garbers a is just the resilience of coming back in the second half after rough first half remember we had talked about this over the course of the last year how different does UCLA season potentially be next year last year I should say if that first game against Coastal Carolina garbers kind of bounces back in the second half you know and sort of solidifies the job remember him kind of letting go of the Rope if you will in that first game last year open the door for Dante to come in and then it became this whole sort of quarterback controversy in Carousel over the course of the season so the fact that he did didn't let go of the Rope this year he hung on to the Rope came back with the resilience a I thought was absolutely terrific and very encouraging to see second you don't want to see this but at the end of the day he accounted for 70% of the rushing yards you know I mean that that sort of spells trouble uh for for later in this season I mean it spells trouble from the very next game uh moving forward but he still did a great job of being a gamer and and his legs opened up his passing game and will the third point I'll make is and it was a subtle one if you recall that last play before the field goal you know on that third and five where he scrambled to that left sideline and he found a way to put that right forearm in bounds before he fell out of bounds I mean think about the ramifications of that game if you recall that play because it forced Hawaii to use their final timeout UCLA makes the kick and then if you see on that third down when Hawaii got sacked shager got sacked Hawaii had to sort of rush to the line and the game was basically over because they burned so much clock in that situation if garbers just goes out of bounds Hawai gets that extra timeout they call it they still have about 30 or 35 seconds to go and stranger things have happened you know they hit a first down they start going in the hurry up spiking the ball that could still have been a very uncomfortable ending for UCLA so to have the presence of mine to be able to put that forearm down showed a tremendous amount of leadership and look every game isn't going to be a Michelangelo Masterpiece but your ability to kind of gut it out and grind it out and not let go of the Rope granted this wasn't the performance we were expecting for the team but the fact that he led them back on a comeback and got the W shows a tremendous amount of resilience so I really appreciate your selection there yeah and I mean it came down to that final drive and when we got a false start we have to push back five yards it's first and 15 and he comes right back and hits matal over the middle for a that was such like momentum aligning for the that allowed them to go down the field and get the win listen ugliest first half I've ever seen from garbers but it's not how you get knocked down it's how you get up after as Rocky would say and garbers got up after that atrocious first half and we thank him for it because we're probably not walking away with a victory if he doesn't get his confidence back so guys that is all we got for this game one we're going to be back and live next week for game two against Indiana it's going to be a lot of fun and I think I'm going to leave it with this comment right here just win baby the great Al Davis has always said it just win baby you guys have a great rest of your night Four's up Bruins got it done when it mattered most and we're one to0