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Ohio State overpowers UCLA as struggles continue for the Bruins
Under the glaring lights of Ohio Stadium, any lingering hope for a UCLA miracle evaporated with surgical precision, as the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes delivered a masterclass in football dominance, dismantling the Bruins 48–10 in a contest that felt less like a game and more like an autopsy of a program in profound distress.From the opening whistle, the statistical chasm was staggering; Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin operated with the cool efficiency of a seasoned veteran, completing 23 of 31 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown, while adding another on the ground, all while dissecting a Bruins secondary that seemed perpetually a step behind. The absence of UCLA's starting quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, thrust redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan into a near-impossible scenario—making his first collegiate start against the nation's top defense—and the result was a predictably brutal offensive display where the Bruins managed a mere three first downs through three quarters and only 222 total yards, a figure that pales in comparison to Ohio State's 20 first downs and relentless offensive versatility.The Buckeyes' scoring was a distributed affair, with touchdowns from Bo Jackson, James Peoples—whose highlight-reel hurdle over a defender encapsulated the night's one-sided nature—Bryson Rodgers, Isaiah West, and Sayin himself, showcasing a depth that UCLA could not hope to match. Even a fleeting moment of Bruin success, a late-third-quarter touchdown pass from Duncan to Kwazi Gilmer, was instantly negated by Lorenzo Styles Jr.'s soul-crushing 100-yard kickoff return, a play that felt symbolic of the entire evening: for every small step forward, UCLA was immediately pushed two steps back. This loss, dropping the Bruins to a dismal 3-7, effectively extinguishes any bowl eligibility and raises existential questions about the program's trajectory, especially as it prepares to leave the historic Rose Bowl for SoFi Stadium next season.The performance draws an uncomfortable parallel to some of the program's bleakest historical chapters, where talent gaps and systemic issues converge, and for Head Coach Chip Kelly, the challenge now shifts from salvaging a season to rebuilding a culture, with the upcoming game against Washington offering little more than a final audition for players in a year defined by disappointment. In the cold calculus of football analytics, this wasn't just a loss; it was a data point confirming a vast and growing disparity, leaving UCLA to ponder not just the next opponent, but the very foundation of its future in an increasingly competitive landscape.
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