UCLA is going to be up against it not matter what Saturday at Penn State.
Now, the team might be without its starting quarterback.
Per BruinReportOnline, a UCLA-themed outlet that’s part of 247Sports, UCLA starter Ethan Garbers is expected to be questionable Saturday.
“He’s been in a boot since the Oregon game, according to sources,” BruinReportOnline reported to X, formerly Twitter Monday night. “We’ll hopefully see him tonight at UCLA’s-Practice-After-Dark.”
We’re hearing that #UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers is questionable for Saturday’s game at Penn State. He’s been in a boot since the Oregon game, according to sources. We’ll hopefully see him tonight at UCLA’s-Practice-After-Dark.
— Bruin Report Online (@BruinReport) September 30, 2024
At practice, UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said Garbers was resting Monday, although he wanted to practice.
At Monday night practice, UCLA's DeShaun Foster gave an update on Ethan Garbers and discussed what he saw from the offense and defense last week:https://t.co/IuvkZad2jt pic.twitter.com/yDl94zWtj7
— Bruin Report Online (@BruinReport) October 1, 2024
Foster also sounded optimistic that Garbers will play.
“Unless we hold him out,” Foster said, “he’s going to try to get out there and play.”
Garbers put up respectable numbers last season, completing 67% of his passes and throwing 11 touchdowns to three interceptions. UCLA was also better as a team, finishing 8-5. This season, Garbers has completed 57.3% of his passes, throwing three touchdowns and six interceptions, and UCLA is 1-3 with losses to Indiana (42-13 at home) LSU (34-17 in Baton Rouge) and UCLA (34-13 at home). This Penn State defense, which allowed 39 yards of total offense in the second half against Illinois, would be a tough out for any quarterback.
So if Garbers can’t go, who would be in line to start for UCLA Saturday?
Per UCLA’s depth chart, Justyn Martin is the next man up.
Martin’s 2024 season thus far has amounted to a pair of relief appearances and seven pass attempts.
In the team’s loss to Oregon this past Saturday at the Rose Bowl, he went 1-for-4 with seven yards.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder from Inglewood, California was a four-star recruit who signed to UCLA’s 2022 Class.
This will be the first time Penn State and UCLA have played since 1968, when Penn State won, 21-6 at the Rose Bowl. UCLA leads the lifetime series, 4-2, with all games taking place consecutively from 1963 to 1968. Penn State went undefeated in ‘68 and is looking to do the same in ‘24.
Kickoff is scheduled for noon on FOX.
