PASADENA — UCLA football was within reach of beating all Pac-12 opponents from California, but Cal Berkeley slipped by the Bruins, 33-7, after a tumultuous four quarters at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night.
Costly turnovers hurt the Bruins (7-5 overall, 4-5 in Pac-12) and quarterback Dante Moore was sacked six times in the loss.
Jaydn Ott led Cal (6-6, 3-5) with 80 rushing yards. The Bruins defense gave up an uncharacteristic 124 rushing yards in the game.
Quarterback Ethan Garbers, who was honored in the pregame senior night celebration, suffered an apparent injury on the first drive of the game. UCLA called on Dante Moore to step into the position, and the true freshman was intercepted by Cal’s Craig Woodson on his first pass thrown.
The Golden Bears settled for a field goal for a 3-0 advantage with 5:25 remaining for the only points of the first quarter.
Moore regained some composure at the start of the second frame and got the Bruins to the 20-yard line, but Cal pushed running back Carson Steele back to force a turnover on downs. UCLA’s Kamari Ramsay intercepted quarterback Fernando Mendoza five plays later to get the ball back.
UCLA missed a field goal with 6:58 left in the quarter — their ninth missed field goal of the season. The Bruins were able to put together a scoring drive afterward, which was put into motion by a Laiatu Latu interception returned for 21 yards. Moore went on to throw a five-yard touchdown pass to Logan Loya who was waiting just inside the blue turf of the end zone for a 7-6 advantage.
The lead was brief. Cal’s Jaydn Ott returned the ensuing kick 100 yards for a touchdown to pull Cal ahead again. The Golden Bears’ David Reese forced a fumble with just under a minute remaining until halftime and Brett Johnson recovered it. Mendoza connected with Jeremiah Hunter for a 14-yard touchdown and a 20-7 lead with 10 seconds left.
Cal added another three points on a 32-yard field goal to open the final quarter after a scoreless third frame. Colson Yankoff fumbled on the kick return immediately after, giving the Golden Bears the ball at the 14-yard line.
A quick, one-yard run by Justin Williams-Thomas moved Cal to the 13-yard line and Mendoza threw a touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hunter on the next play. Cal added one last field goal with 3:42 left on the clock.
The loss closes out the season for the Bruins, who await a potential placement in a bowl game.