LOS ANGELES — UCLA wide receiver Mikey Matthews’ season is over on the field, but his contributions haven’t stopped since he suffered a foot injury in the Bruins’ Week 2 game against San Diego State.
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Matthews’ voice still carries weight on the sidelines, as seen when UCLA’s usually sturdy offense stumbled during the first quarter against Michigan State on Saturday.
Leading rusher Wayne Knight fumbled twice and Anthony Woods fumbled once before the Bruins (7-0 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) cleaned up their game and ultimately pulled away in the second half for a 28-10 win.
Matthews’ voice was felt and heard as he wheeled up and down the sidelines on a scooter.
UCLA head coach Bob Chesney spoke about Matthews and how his presence has continued to impact the program on Monday as the team prepares to host Nevada (3-4, 2-2 Mountain West) on Saturday afternoon.
“The ability to move around his team and be a leader and never take a day off and have a bad day and seeing it from an outside perspective, it’s cool to see,” Chesney said. “He’s at every team meeting, and he’s adding value to everything he does. He’s finding value regardless of whether he can practice or not.”
RUNNING BACKS UNDETERRED BY EARLY SETBACKS
For the third time this season, running backs Knight, Woods and Jaivian Thomas each scored in the same game, something they had previously done against Maryland and Purdue.
“It’s just adversity,” Thomas said of their early fumble issues against the Spartans on Saturday. “(Fumbles) are part of the sport. We really just flushed over it and looked past it and continued to play our game. Woods fumbled and was kind of in his head about it. And then I fumbled. It’s just kind of how it goes. You just have to move past it.”
Moving past mistakes and remaining even-keeled is a trait Thomas said he picked up from his McClymonds High running backs coach, Jason Walton.
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“I talk to him every day,” Thomas said. “Everything happens for a reason. Just keep my faith and know everything happens for a reason.”
THIRD-DOWN EFFICIENCY AND PELLOT’S CONTRIBUTIONS
UCLA senior linebacker Donavyn Pellot’s climb up the depth chart has been steady. He appeared in all 12 games for the Bruins last season, made 17 tackles, and has played in all seven games this season.
A 67-yard interception return in the second quarter on Saturday is Pellot’s latest contribution to a season when contributions have been widespread.
UCLA held Michigan State to a 2-for-11 showing on third down conversion attempts on Saturday and boasts the third-highest third-down conversion defense in the country.
“For us as a team, we are worried about our day-to-day, not focused so much on the results,” Pellot said. “We are so focused on our process, and that’s an attribution to us being this successful.”
TUNING OUT THE SKEPTICS
Seventh-ranked UCLA is looking for its first 8-0 start to a season since 2005, when Karl Dorrell led the Bruins to a 10-2 record.
And while UCLA has drawn national attention, not everyone has been impressed, pointing to a favorable schedule. The Bruins, who don’t have to face Big Ten heavyweights Ohio State (6-1) or Indiana (7-1) in the regular season this season, have compiled their unbeaten record against Cal, San Diego State, Purdue, Maryland, Oregon, Wisconsin and Michigan State teams that have a combined record of 23-29.
“I’m not worried about what anyone else says,” Chesney said. “It really can’t help us, and it really can’t hurt us if we don’t let it. It’s irrelevant what people have to say. What are we going to do on a day-to-day basis? (We) just have to stay focused on us, good or bad. You want to start checking all the good on social media and listening to all those good things; just know there’s a minute when the bad will show up. Just avoid the good, avoid the bad, and focus on the work you got to do and at some point we’ll look back at the end of the year, see where we land and take the time to enjoy that and tell some stories, but now is not the time. Now is the time to focus on our work and not worry about what anyone else says.”
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