No. 9 UCLA football wakes up to put away Michigan State

PASADENA — Before leisurely joining his punters in a pregame drill, fielding snaps and booting balls out of the south end zone, UCLA head coach Bob Chesney gazed at the Rose Bowl’s sidelines.

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Both brimmed with recruits and their families, all present because he asked them to visit. Each one embarked on a trip to Pasadena to watch his football team and decide if they wanted to board the Chesney train.

Chesney expected this. A part of his evolution plan for UCLA football.

But Bruins fans might look at those sidelines and wonder: What world are we living in?

It’s a world where the Bruins improved to 7-0 for the first time since 2005, after defeating Michigan State 28-10 on Saturday.

A world where that was the second win of the day after the Bruins beat out Oregon and Kentucky to land a commitment from local four-star quarterback Josiah Boyd minutes before kickoff.

A world where everything’s coming up blue and gold.

A world that might be too good to be true.

With all the momentum, the Bruins seemed set for a trap game. Multiple ball-carriers fumbled in the first half, setting up Michigan State (2-6, 0-5) with red-zone opportunities. Quarterback Ty Dieffenbach wasn’t reading the defense as smoothly as he did against Wisconsin.

“You just can’t do that if you want to win really close games,” Chesney said in the postgame press conference. “It was sloppy.”

But a small dose of adversity was nothing for Chesney and these Bruins (7-0, 5-0 Big Ten). UCLA’s defense had its offense’s back, forcing three turnovers of its own – two courtesy of safety Malik Hartford – and carrying the load until Dieffenbach and the ground attack found its footing.

Eventually they did, as the run game surpassed 200 yards for the first time since Week 4.

Dieffenbach threw for 198 yards and one touchdown, but often sailed or underthrew attempts – not to mention a few drops from his wide receivers. Jaivian Thomas and Anthony Woods found the end zone after losing those fumbles, with Woods breaking the century mark for the first time this season.

After the Bruins went scoreless in the first quarter, both of their second-quarter touchdowns came because of plays their defense made.

With Michigan State starting a drive deep in its own territory, Hartford broke through the offensive line to jar the ball loose from running back Kenneth Williams’ grasp. Linebacker Samuel Omosigho pounced on it, and Thomas capitalized with a 7-yard touchdown.

Omosigho also sacked Spartans quarterback Kayd Coffman, a true freshman who started with teammates Alessio Milivojevic and Cam Fancher injured. Jalen Woods and Donavyn Pellot each stuffed runs, helping to keep the Spartans from building on their early lead.

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“What a great job by the defense to step up,” Chesney said.

After Thomas fumbled and Michigan State returned it to UCLA’s 20-yard line, Pellot picked off Coffman and brought it back 67 yards. Five plays later, Wayne Knight punched in a one-yard score for his Big Ten-leading 12th touchdown of the season.

UCLA was set to take an ugly 7-point lead into halftime, but matters seemed to grow worse when three Michigan State defenders hit Dieffenbach low and he remained on the ground, tending to his left knee.

“At halftime, in the locker room, I was a little banged up,” Dieffenbach said. “A bunch of guys came over and said, ‘Let’s go, man. We got you.’ Just fed off that energy.”

The Cal Poly transfer returned, bouncing back from the hit to produce his best drive of the game coming out of the half. He scrambled for a first down, then rifled a 63-yard touchdown to Brian Rowe Jr.

Woods also claimed redemption on the following drive, rushing for 32 yards on four carries and finding the end zone.

“I had to flush it, next-play mentality,” Woods said. “Bad things happen sometimes, but you just gotta push through adversity.”

“The response was phenomenal,” Chesney said.

It wasn’t all pretty in the second half, though, as Dieffenbach overthrew an open Josh Phifer on third down near the goal line. UCLA opted to keep its offense on the field and came up short on fourth down.

But again, the defense compensated. Omosigho sacked Leo Hannan, who had replaced Coffman under center, to hold the Spartans to a field goal. On the next drive, Hartford tracked Hannan’s pass for an interception.

On a day that started perfectly for UCLA’s program, the Bruins seemed destined for a complete-game of complimentary football. While it took a half for that to kick in, the Bruins did what they have all season, finding contributions from unexpected players and inventing new ways to win a football game.

“They’re all in,” Chesney said of his players. “They think they can win every single game when they walk on that field. They’re confident. They don’t overthink about anything and think it’s special.”

Chesney extended the record he set as the first UCLA coach to start his tenure with seven consecutive wins. The Bruins’ path to the College Football Playoff remained unblemished. With Nevada coming to town on Halloween, and No. 16 USC the only currently-ranked team remaining on the schedule, UCLA’s in control of its destiny.

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