{"id":937726,"date":"2026-10-23T04:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T04:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/937726\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T04:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T04:52:12","slug":"ucla-football-strives-to-keep-undefeated-record-against-michigan-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/937726\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA football strives to keep undefeated record against Michigan State"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the table of College Football Playoff contention, the Bruins might currently be sitting with the biggest stack.<\/p>\n

The only undefeated team remaining in either the Big Ten or SEC. The nation\u2019s 20th-best overall defense. Two midseason All-American nominations. Third in ESPN\u2019s Strength of Record Index \u2013 ahead of Ohio State, Miami, Indiana, Georgia and Alabama.<\/p>\n

But the strength of having a big stack isn\u2019t just about winning the biggest hands. It\u2019s about knowing how to protect it. And \u2013 as the great Kenny Rogers would say \u2013 you\u2019ve got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them.<\/p>\n

Especially when a weaker opponent steps up to the table with nothing to lose.<\/p>\n

No. 9 UCLA (6-0, 4-0 Big Ten) will look to keep its cards close and its undefeated record intact when it welcomes Michigan State (2-5, 0-4) to the Rose Bowl for Saturday afternoon\u2019s homecoming contest.<\/p>\n

The Bruins enter the matchup fresh off consecutive victories over Oregon and Wisconsin, two programs that have not only historically presented significant challenges for UCLA \u2013 but are playoff-level threats themselves. After surviving a 17-15 battle in Eugene on Oct. 10 \u2013 the Bruins\u2019 first win at Autzen Stadium since 2004 \u2013 they returned to Pasadena and held the Badgers to just seven points in a 17-7 victory.<\/p>\n

[Related: Ty Dieffenbach brings winning streak home in UCLA football win over Wisconsin<\/a>]<\/p>\n

For a program that has gone 8-16 in its last two seasons, the undefeated start represents more than an impressive opening stretch. Even through injuries and doubters \u2013 including the loss of starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava against the Ducks \u2013 an unblemished record has established UCLA as a legitimate contender in the Big Ten title race, with the Bruins now standing alone atop the conference standings.<\/p>\n

With the victory against the Badgers, first-year head coach Bob Chesney became the first head honcho in program history to win their first six games in Westwood, a remarkable accomplishment for a team that entered the season with 55 new players and 19 new coaches. However, as any good card player would advise, Chesney has continually stressed keeping his head down and just focusing on who\u2019s playing right in front of him, continuing to establish a brand of winning centered around striving for pure excellence.<\/p>\n

\"(KaiCoach Bob Chesney addresses two players during practice. Chesney is the last Big Ten or SEC coach to be undefeated this season. (Kai Dizon\/Assistant Photo editor)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never looked at the odds of what a game is or what any of that stuff is,\u201d Chesney said. \u201cWe just have to play the opponent that we\u2019ve got to play. The standard doesn\u2019t rise or sink, right? The standard is the standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

But while UCLA has continued to climb the national rankings, Michigan State has spent much of its season searching for a consistent streak of good play and good luck. Under first-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald, the Spartans have struggled to turn tight games into victories and are currently riding a five-game losing streak.<\/p>\n

The flop and turn have looked great for Michigan State as of late \u2013 but that pesky river has continued to give their opponents late-game edges. Last week against then-No. 25 Northwestern, Michigan State was tied at 21 late in the fourth quarter before a blocked field goal and subsequent Northwestern scoring drive handed it another narrow loss. In the week before against Illinois, a touchdown pass on their first play of overtime gave Michigan State the confidence to go for two \u2013 but a stout Illini stop sent Sparty and Co. with their hats held low.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald has relied on quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, who has thrown for 1,263 yards and seven touchdowns, alongside running back Jaziun Patterson, who leads the team with 327 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns, to carry on his old school, grind-it-out offensive mentality. However, the Spartans have struggled to consistently move the football, averaging just 310.7 total yards and 21.3 points per game \u2013 both of which rank near the bottom of the FBS in team efficiency.<\/p>\n

And against a UCLA defense that has made a habit of disrupting opposing offenses, those struggles could prove particularly costly.<\/p>\n

The Bruins enter Saturday allowing just 16.2 points and 97.7 rushing yards per game, with defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler\u2019s unit repeatedly demonstrating its ability to control the line of scrimmage and force turnovers \u2013 19 so far this year. Anchored by a physical and versatile linebacking corps featuring senior Sammy Omosigho, sophomore Scott Taylor and fifth-year Jalen Woods, UCLA has consistently made life difficult for opposing rushing attacks and forced offenses into uncomfortable passing situations, especially on third downs.<\/p>\n

\"(KaiSenior linebacker Sammy Omosigho points with his right arm while stretching his left leg during practice. Omosigho has totaled 46 tackles and forced five fumbles this season. (Kai Dizon\/Assistant Photo editor)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been doing a good job covering on the back end, and we\u2019ve been able to get some pressure, and they\u2019re doing a great job of communicating and executing,\u201d Hitschler said. \u201cSo far it\u2019s been a strength for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offensively, UCLA has found similar success without relying heavily on its passing attack. Despite losing Iamaleava, the Bruins have continued to lean on a versatile rushing offense led by fifth-year running back Wayne Knight and offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy.<\/p>\n

Knight enters Saturday with 571 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, with UCLA as a team averaging 231 rushing yards per game \u2013 good for 12th nationally. But the Bruins\u2019 rushing success extends well beyond their leading back. Fifth-year Anthony Woods and senior Jaivian Thomas have provided Kennedy with additional weapons capable of attacking defenses through a variety of formations, while the offense\u2019s reliance on pre-snap movement, personnel versatility and Wildcat concepts has made predicting where the football will go increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you just abandon the run game or you abandon the pass game, they can hone in on one individual piece,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to abandon either side of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with senior quarterback Ty Dieffenbach now commanding the offense, UCLA has shown little interest in abandoning the identity that carried it through the opening weeks of the season. Dieffenbach helped guide the Bruins to victory over Wisconsin in his first start and has now racked up a comfortable 307 passing yards on the season so far with one touchdown and one interception.<\/p>\n

While Michigan State\u2019s record suggests Saturday should be one of UCLA\u2019s more manageable challenges after two formidable ones, the Bruins have little reason to overlook a conference opponent capable of turning close games into upsets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the table of College Football Playoff contention, the Bruins might currently be sitting with the biggest stack.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":937727,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-937726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=937726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/937727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=937726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=937726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=937726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}