As an UT player myself who almost exclusively plays Squad Battles due to a disability in my hands I'm experiencing exactly the same.
Low rated teams playing the best Tiki-Taka passes I've ever seen with no errors, but only sideways and backwards the vast majority of the time.
At 2-0 up against a very weak 71 rated team (I'd guess around 2 1/2 - 3 star rated in career mode) all they did was pass behind the half way line and as you said, the moment you get 4-5 feet from a player they just pass sideways or back, even when losing.
@EA_anyone chasing shadows for 70-80 % of a match is not fun.
They have to revert this change back or change it in some way because as it stands currently It's just broken.