UCLA nearly blows its 20-point lead before defeating Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. – With the offense humming and the defense holding up even when it didn't call an inexcusable penalty, it looked like UCLA would pull out a convincing road win midway through the third quarter on Saturday.

With quarterback Ethan Garbers virtually replicating his career-best performance in his final game, the Bruins held a 20-point lead over Nebraska. It would have been easy to think about how to spend the flight home.

Then something unexpected rolled into Memorial Stadium: drama.

Dylan Raiola, the Nebraska freshman quarterback who made poor decisions most of the afternoon, fired a touchdown pass. The Cornhuskers then shook off a four-down red zone sack and an injury to Raiola to score another touchdown, cutting their deficit to seven points. They got the ball back at their own 19-yard line with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left and had a chance to tie the score or take the lead.

Nebraska finally reached the UCLA 39-yard line when backup quarterback Heinrich Haarberg fired a deep pass. As Cornhuskers receiver Jacory Barney Jr. and Bruins safety Bryan Addison jostled for the ball, it bounced off Barney's knee and landed in the hands of UCLA cornerback Kaylin Moore, who intercepted it with 29 seconds left could.

Collapse averted. Game over.

UCLA defenseman Bryan Addison breaks up a pass intended for Nebraska receiver Jacory Barney Jr., which was then intercepted by Kaylin Moore (not pictured) to seal the Bruins' win on Saturday.

(Rebecca S. Gratz/Associated Press)

Moore sprinted down the field and celebrated his game-saving effort that gave UCLA an unexpectedly breathless 27-20 victory.

With its second straight triumph, UCLA confirmed its flickering bowl hopes and continued its season-long trend of playing better on the road, where the Bruins (3-5 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) have earned all of their victories.

This came with a huge sigh of relief.

Nebraska got within 27-20 with 3:57 left after Dante Dowdell jumped over defenders for a one-yard touchdown. The score might have given the Cornhuskers a tie had UCLA not made a big stop early in the fourth quarter.

With Nebraska facing fourth-and-5, Bruins linebacker Carson Schwesinger sacked Raiola for a 10-yard loss. But UCLA couldn't get a first down on its next drive and the Cornhuskers got the ball back and eventually scored for the third straight time on a drive in which a Bruins defender was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. The culprit this time was defensive tackle Sitiveni Havili Kaufusi after linebackers Ale Kaho and Oluwafemi Oladejo incurred identical penalties.

Garbers continued his attempt to end his college career on a high note, completing 17 of 25 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns. He was particularly strong at the start of the game.

Garbers completed his first five passes, converting two third downs, to help the Bruins to a first-and-goal win over Nebraska. But a short run, an incompletion and a Garbers struggle for a yard on third down forced UCLA to settle for Mateen Bhaghani's 25-yard field goal.

The next time the Bruins got the ball, there would be no compromise. Garbers once again led his team efficiently down the field, firing a finish to J.Michael Sturdivant in double coverage to convert a third down. The drive ended with Garbers throwing a 10-yard screen pass to running back Jalen Berger for a touchdown.

UCLA led 10-0 and it looked like the Bruins were on their way to a bust as they appeared to hold Nebraska to three straight wins for the second straight year. But as the boos from the sellout crowd of 87,453 serenaded the Cornhuskers, a post-play unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Oladejo for taunting gave Nebraska a first down.

The Cornhuskers (5-4, 2-4) made the most of the opportunity, Raiola firing a 40-yard pass for his first completion and Nebraska eventually scoring on Dowdell's 4-yard touchdown run to make it 10-7.

Garbers then mimicked another part of his success against Rutgers when he escaped pressure near the line of scrimmage and evaded a defender with a 57-yard run. Later, the Bruins faced a fourth-and-1 at the Nebraska eight-yard line and lined up to go for it before Nebraska called a timeout. Then UCLA called a timeout and kicked a 26-yard field goal to build a 13-7 lead.

The lead would grow significantly before the Bruins could finally breathe a sigh of relief thanks to their defense.