Bowl season kicked off with a tremendous day of action on Saturday, and the LA Bowl between UCLA football and Boise State kept the ball rolling in the primetime slot.
The Bruins outscored the Broncos 28-6 in the second half to grab the victory.
Here's what we learned from a fun night in Los Angeles.
1. A tale of two halves
At halftime of this game, it looked like Boise State was headed towards a victory. The score was 16-7, and the Broncos were running the ball at will. It felt like that lead was going to get extended on the strength of Ashton Jeanty and George Holani picking up chunk after chunk of yardage on the ground.
Then, the third quarter happened.
First, UCLA capped off a seven-play, 87-yard drive with a touchdown pass from Ethan Garbers to Kyle Ford to bring the margin to just two.
TJ Harden then found the end zone twice in the last few minutes of the period. With 3:03 remaining, he punched the ball in from one yard out, then scored on a 14-yard scamper with 19 seconds left.
The fourth quarter was less eventful, but with the score now 28-16 in the Bruins' favor, that was to their benefit.
An Alex Johnson interception of CJ Tiller with 6:18 felt like the Boise State spirit-breaker that put this result in the category of "inevitable". A 40-yard touchdown pass from Garbers to J Michael Sturdivant on the very next play confirmed that.
For a team that had a disappointing season and was missing several of its best players, this was an extremely impressive display of resilience.
2. UCLA has 2 really good quarterbacks
Dante Moore may have left the Bruins earlier this month, but the UCLA quarterback room is not bereft of talent. In the wake of the former five-star recruit's departure, the Bruins got really good performances from two guys on Saturday night.
The first half saw some strong play from Collin Schlee. Before suffering an injury at the end of a long run late in the second quarter, Schlee completed 11 of his 16 attempts for 78 yards and a touchdown, and he added 127 rushing yards on seven carries.
In his stead, Ethan Garbers was tremendous as well. He finished the night with 152 yards and two touchdowns on 12 throws and he added 38 yards with three carries of his own.
The loss of Moore had many expecting Chip Kelly to go to the transfer portal for a new passer, but Saturday night showed that he has two great options in-house already.
3. A workhorse tailback has emerged for the Bruins
For much of the 2023 season, UCLA has gone with a running back committee, but with Carson Steele missing Saturday's LA Bowl, the Bruins learned they can lean on TJ Harden to be the workhorse back on his own.
As they prepare to enter the Big Ten next season, having physical backs who can carry the ball 20 times in a game is vital.
Harden hit that mark exactly against Boise State. He carried the ball 20 times for 105 yards, and he found paydirt twice. He also caught the ball four times, adding 26 yards to the stat sheet in that department.
Harden and Steele will both his seniors next season, and when they're healthy, this offense is a great spot.
However, should one go down, these guys are good enough to pick up the others' slack. On Saturday night, Harden looked like a guy who can run in the Big Ten in November.