A week after questions arose about UCLA’s offense during its win over San Diego State, it was the Bruins’ defense that was raising questions in its 52-38 win over Purdue.
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The 38 points are the most UCLA has allowed through its first three games of the season.
Offensively, the Bruins scored their most points against an FBS opponent since 2021 (62). Their 645 yards of total offense was the most for the program since 2019. Safe to say, it was a good day at the office for UCLA’s offense.
If the Bruins put together a complete performance, UCLA could surprise a lot of people in year one under Bob Chesney.
Chesney believes that the Bruins are more than capable of playing complementary football.
“I want to see the offense and defense click at elite levels,” Chesney said. “We haven’t played a perfect game yet. We haven’t played the perfect complementary game yet, but there’s one in there … . I’m looking forward to seeing that day, because it exists … we just need to make sure that we execute and we get a little more consistent with it throughout the whole course of the game.”
Despite allowing a season-high 488 total yards to the Boilermakers, UCLA had some inspired performances from linebacker Sammy Omosigho and defensive back Rodrick Pleasant.
Omosigho finished with 12 tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble, meanwhile Pleasant had two tackles and an interception.
“The one play that stood out to me, the ball is bouncing, the running back looked like he was gonna go and get the edge, and Sammy (Omosigho) just put out one arm and just crumbled this kid with one arm. That, to me, was the strength he has, the poise he plays with, the toughness he plays with, and the strength to be able to execute and finish on those tackles,” Chesney said.
Pleasant’s interception inside the red zone with 5:48 left in the game put any hope for a Purdue comeback to rest.
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Leading the way for UCLA’s offense was quarterback Nico Iamaleava. He arguably had his best game in a UCLA jersey. The senior threw for 276 yards and three touchdowns, tacking on 55 yards on seven carries.
Most importantly, Iamaleava had no turnovers in a game for the first time this year. He believes the Bruins’ preparation leading up to their third game of the campaign was the best it’s been all season.
“I thought in week one, I thought we performed well. Maybe not to our max potential, but we had a great week of preparation and that was the main thing, going into week three. It was our preparation during the week. I thought that in week two, we took it lightly. We did not prepare well. You guys saw the results. I think that in week three, that was the emphasis, our preparation,” Iamaleava said.
Building on his case for the Doak Walker Award, Wayne Knight undoubtedly had his best game as a Bruin. The James Madison transfer handled 18 carries for a season-high 177 yards and two scores. Additionally, he hauled in three receptions for 23 yards.
As an offense, UCLA ran for 369 yards and four touchdowns.
“The biggest thing for us was to just put it all together. And I think that we stepped up to that challenge – what we did on the ground, in the air,” Knight said. “But the guys up front, no matter who is in there as guys are rotating all the time, whoever is in there is going to put up front. They are working as a team.”
Joining Knight with big days were Anthony Woods and Jaivian Thomas. Woods had 80 yards on 13 carries and Thomas notched 58 yards on 9 carries. For the second game in a row, all three running backs found the end zone.
“We’re sticking to the code. It’s a good rotation in our running back room. I’m put in a good position. We’re moving the ball on offense and we are getting down in the red zone. I’m able to punch it in. It’s about whatever is best for the team,” Knight said.
The Bruins have their biggest test of the season coming up next Saturday at Maryland (10:30 a.m.). It will be the first time UCLA plays outside of the Pacific time zone after playing their only road game at Cal.
UCLA will need to put together one of those perfect days that Chesney has been looking for if they want to come back to Westwood with a win.