HONOLULU — — Mateen Bhaghani hit a 32-yard field goal with 56 seconds left to help UCLA to a season-opening 16-13 victory over Hawaii on Saturday night.

The Bruins (1-0) scored all their points in the second half and made up a 10-0 deficit at halftime against the Rainbow Warriors (1-1).

“We didn’t really start the first half the way we wanted to, but I was just happy with the way they came out in the second half,” UCLA first-year coach DeShaun Foster said. “They came out and executed. It was more about us than what they did to us, so I just liked that my guys came out, fought hard and kept playing and we were able to get the win.”

UCLA rallied after a disappointing first 30 minutes of play to eventually tie the score 13-13 with 14:05 to play. Bhaghani connected on a 37-yard field goal, which came five plays later after DJ Justice intercepted it.

The Bruins began their final drive with 3:08 remaining and covered 45 yards in seven plays, highlighted by Bhaghani’s game-winning field goal from 32 yards from the left side that split the uprights.

“In a game like this, it’s tough, it’s tough,” Hawaii coach Timmy Chang said. “They’ve played a few more plays than we have and the result is what it is, but I feel for my guys, they work hard, but I mean, you’ve got to go get things in life that you want and that’s good. I don’t want to say it’s good for my guys to lose, but through adversity and everything, it helps these guys grow, it helps me grow and we come back ready the next time we’re ready to play.”

Hawaii scored on its opening possession, when it orchestrated a nine-play, 73-yard drive that was punctuated by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Schager to a wide-open Pofele Ashlock. Schager was 7-for-7 passing for 51 yards on the drive, which was extended by a 19-yard gain by punter Lucas Borrow on fourth-and-6.

Kansei Matsuzawa’s 28-yard field goal as time expired in the first half gave Hawaii a 10-0 lead at halftime. The field goal was set up by Logan Taylor’s interception and seven-yard return to the UCLA 5-yard line.

The Bruins got on the scoreboard after converting their first possession of the second half with a 39-yard scoring strike from Ethan Garbers to Rico Flores Jr. The touchdown pass capped an eight-play, 96-yard drive that took 4:36 off the clock.

“There’s definitely concerns, but I’m glad we have a week off so we can go into the week and try to address some of those issues that we had,” Foster said. “I think we addressed some of those issues in the second half, that’s where we were able to execute, but a lot of things, you know, the emotions of the guys, they just got caught up in the emotion of the game and we just couldn’t execute the way we wanted to, but they settled down a little bit in the second half.”

THE PICKUP

UCLA was projected to finish 15th out of 18 teams in a preseason Big Ten Conference media poll. It entered the game — its first under coach DeShaun Foster and debut as a member of the Big Ten Conference — with plenty of uncertainty, but the Bruins may have more questions after Week 1 than they did leading up to it.

Despite the loss, Hawaii held on to the Bruins for more than 59 minutes. The Rainbow Warriors, who had been projected to finish ninth in the Mountain West Conference, were looking for their first win over a Power Conference team since beating Arizona in 2019.

NEXT

UCLA has a week off next week before opening Big Ten Conference play at home against Indiana on Sept. 14

Hawaii also has a week off next week, after which it will play its first of five away games this season on September 14. The team will visit Sam Houston for the first meeting between the schools.

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