UCLA showed up late to its own homecoming.
But oh, what an entrance.
After looking incredibly flat during the first quarter Saturday afternoon, the ninth-ranked Bruins did exactly what they were supposed to do.
They forced turnovers, ran the ball relentlessly and completed a few big passes on the way to a 28-10 victory over Michigan State at the Rose Bowl.
After spotting the Spartans an early touchdown, UCLA (7-0 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) rolled off 28 consecutive points in finally resembling the dominant team.
The Bruins held Michigan State (2-6, 0-5) to 156 yards of offense, meaning the Spartans nearly managed as much yardage – 112 – on their two fumble recovery returns in the first half as they did running and throwing the ball.
Meanwhile, UCLA’s offense piled up 443 yards after quarterback Ty Dieffenbach returned from a midgame injury scare after apparently getting stepped on.
That was a good thing because it allowed wide receiver Brian Rowe Jr. to haul in a 63-yard touchdown pass from Dieffenbach after beating a defender and reaching out his arms to snag the ball. Running backs Anthony Woods (112 yards rushing and a touchdown) and Wayne Knight (56 yards and a touchdown) did the rest of the heavy lifting for the Bruins offense.
So, why the lifeless start?
Maybe it was the fact that Michigan State was down to its third-string quarterback, a freshman who had never thrown a pass in college.
Maybe it was that the Spartans were down to their fourth-string running back, after the third-stringer had to be helped off the field three plays into the game.
Whatever the reason, UCLA looked like it was taking a win for granted in the game’s early going.
By midway through the third quarter, with their lead up to three touchdowns, that was safe to do.
What it means
UCLA avoided a loss that would have been catastrophic to its College Football Playoff hopes while improving to 7-0 for the first time since 2005.
Coach Bob Chesney has also won 18 consecutive regular-season games going back to early September 2025 when he was at James Madison.
Turning point
After the first quarter went about as poorly as possible for the Bruins – there was a fumble, a holding penalty, a dropped pass and an easy touchdown given up – their defense swung the momentum back in the team’s favor by forcing two turnovers leading to touchdowns.
The first came in the second quarter when defensive back Malik Hartford forced a fumble recovered by linebacker Sammy Omosigho. The Bruins quickly drove for Jaivian Thomas’ 7-yard touchdown run that tied the score at 7-7.
With Michigan State driving in UCLA territory later in the second quarter, linebacker Donavyn Pellot stepped in front of a pass and intercepted it before running 67 yards. The Bruins cashed in five plays later when Knight waited for an opening at the goal line and squirted into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run.
MVP: Ty Dieffenbach
The numbers didn’t fully convey the story of how gutsy Dieffenbach was in shaking off a midgame injury.
Already down one quarterback, the Bruins found themselves without another in the final seconds before halftime.
While throwing the ball away under pressure, Dieffenbach got sandwiched between multiple defenders and stayed down for a few minutes. After being attended to for a few minutes before walking gingerly to the sideline.
He returned for the third quarter, with Chesney telling a television reporter that his quarterback got stepped on before his departure.
Dieffenbach completed 18 of 31 passes for 198 yards with 1 touchdown.
Up next
The Bruins will play a rare midseason nonconference game next weekend when they host Nevada at the Rose Bowl.
