3 key takeaways from UCLA's victory over Iowa

This was a rollercoaster type of game for UCLA with some ups and downs and twists and turns but they found a way to get their third straight Big Ten conference victory, defeating the Hawkeyes.

No. 3 Takeaway: UCLA dominated the second quarter after being shut out 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Ethan Garbers, the Bruins' quarterback, threw two interceptions in the opening minutes, mirroring UCLA's slow start in the first quarter. The two costly turnovers would result in ten Iowa points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Bruins ended their first offensive drive of the quarter with a Mateen Bhaghani 57-yard field goal. Then the Bruins defense stepped up, intercepting Hawkeye's quarterback Brendan Sullivan's pass as UCLA defender Carson Schwesinger returned the pass 13 yards into Iowa territory. Garbers, on a critical third and goal, completed a pass to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala for a touchdown to tie the game up at 10.

On Iowa's next offensive possession, Sullivan fumbled the ball, which Bruin defender Kain Medrano recovered and returned for 12 yards. However, Garbers fumbled the ball as he appeared to be on the verge of scoring a touchdown while running for nine yards toward the Hawkeye goalline in the second quarter, which was the only real error UCLA made. Hawkeye defender Jaden Harrell recovered the fumble.

The UCLA defense forced the Iowa offense to a three-and-out, and the Hawkeyes punted the ball. On the following Bruins offensive possession, behind the rushing of Keegan Jones and the receptions of Logan Loya, UCLA scored on a 29-yard pass from Garbers to go up 17-10 on Iowa.

No. 2 Takeaway: The Bruins rushing attack arguably was the most efficient it has been all season in this game and helped UCLA to a victory over Iowa.

T.J. Harden had his breakout game of the season against Iowa. The junior running back had by far his best rushing game, gaining a season-high 125 yards on 20 carries. This was his fourth 100-yard rushing performance in his career, as he ended last season strong with a 142-yard performance against USC and had 105 yards rushing against Boise State in their bowl game victory. Harden's ability to break tackles and gain yards after contact was key to UCLA's success on the ground.

In this game, UCLA dominated the line of scrimmage, outrushing Iowa by a margin of 211 to 80. In the first half, UCLA's offensive line did an outstanding job of creating holes for Harden and the other running backs like Keegan Jones and Jalen Berger. The Bruins outrushed Iowa by a 146 to 34 margin in the first half. The UCLA offensive line consistently won the battle at the point of attack, allowing the Bruins to establish a solid running game and control the time of possession from 37:33 to 22:27.

No. 1 Takeaway: The Bruins' defense came up big again in this game, allowing UCLA to win its third straight game.

The Bruins did an excellent job of containing Iowa's rushing game, only allowing the Hawkeyes 80 total rushing yards in this game. Multiple Bruin defenders made significant contributions to containing Iowa's potent rushing attack and only allowing their top running back to a season-low 49 yards rushing. It was Iowa's star running back's lowest rushing performance of the season, with his lowest rushing total being 86 yards against Ohio State, which is a testament to UCLA's disciplined tackling and sound defensive schemes.
The Bruins forced three costly turnovers in this game. As mentioned above, they intercepted two passes, which helped swing the momentum in their favor earlier in the game. They also withstood Iowa's late pushes at the end of both halves. In the second and fourth quarters, Iowa made a late push twice to try and tie the game. However, UCLA's defense held strong, making key stops to preserve their lead and secure the victory.