Embarrassing loss to Lobos leaves Bruins 0-3 with no answers

Once scheduled for a Saturday, UCLA's final nonconference game was quietly pushed up a day last spring to provide a bigger spotlight for the Bruins.

- BY BEN BOLCH

MIKEY MATTHEWS (7) gets upended in a second straight poor start by UCLA against a Mountain West foe.

It revealed perhaps the biggest embarrassment of the early college football season.

There's no other way to spin it for UCLA after a third consecutive loss during what was supposed to be the soft part of the schedule raised a frightening prospect: Will the Bruins win a game this season?

They didn’t look capable of beating a quality high school team after dropping a second consecutive game to a Mountain West Conference opponent.

UCLA's 35-10 loss to New Mexico on Friday night at the Rose Bowl represented new depths after the Bruins once again looked lost on both sides of the ball.

"It’s pretty low right now," UCLA coach DeShaun Foster acknowledged after walking off the field and later remaining expressionless when he met with reporters. “I’ve been around this program for a long time and it’s just unfortunate, what's going on right this moment. Just not executing.”

It appears to be a lot more than that for a team that has been outscored by a combined 108-43 margin this season, a figure that would be even worse had two Lobos drives not ended inside UCLA's five-yard line on a fumble and a turnover on downs.

Fans started streaming out of the stands midway through the fourth quarter after New Mexico’s Damon Bankston turned a short pass into a 43-yard touchdown, breaking a couple of tackles along the way.

UCLA is not only 0-3 for the first time since 2019, the Bruins have not held a lead this season after falling into another big hole on a night they were 15½-point favorites. Their defense gave up 6.5 yards per carry and 298 rushing yards against the Lobos (2-1). They were outgained, 450-326, in total yardage. They committed 13 penalties for 116 yards after Foster said reducing penalties would be a priority.