carry

It was always going to be the Bruin Bullies’ day.

No. 9 UCLA was hosting a Michigan State team with one of the least productive offenses in the country led by freshman quarterback Kayd Coffman, who was taking his first college snaps after the Spartans’ top two quarterbacks were injured.

After forcing three turnovers and four sacks, UCLA trounced Michigan State 28-10 Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins improved to 7-0 for the first time since 2005 after winning just three games last season.

UCLA’s defense carried it after the offense was flat in the first half, dropping two passes, drawing drive-killing penalties and fumbling twice in Michigan State territory. Both fumbles were forced by Spartans safety Devin Vaught and returned 50-plus yards to the red zone.

While UCLA conceded a touchdown after the first giveaway, allowing Michigan State (2-6, 0-5) to score in two plays, the Bruins avenged the second fumble with an interception from linebacker Donavyn Pellot.

Pellot returned his first career interception 67 yards. Wayne Knight scored on a one-yard run five plays later for his 13th touchdown of the season. The score gave UCLA a lead it would never relinquish.

UCLA quarterback Ty Dieffenbach passes in the first quarter against Michigan State at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“Second half [was] much, much better than the first half,” UCLA coach Bob Chesney told CBS immediately after the game. “Mistakes in there and uncharacteristic things that we cannot allow to happen at this point in the year.

“So a little bit disappointed in moments, but at the same point in time we did what we had to do.”

Once the offense found its footing, it did not step off the gas.

The Bruins leaned heavily on their running game as they returned to its usual form after being limited to 3.5 yards per carry and failing to surpass 150 yards the past two weeks. All three starting running backs reached the end zone for the third time this season, as UCLA finished with 245 rushing yards at 5.1 yards per carry. Anthony Woods led the UCLA rushing attack with 112 yards and a touchdown in 14 carries.

The running game loosened up the Michigan State defense, and UCLA quarterback Ty Dieffenbach took advantage of an already depleted secondary on the first drive of the second half, unloading a 63-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Brian Rowe Jr. for his first touchdown of the season.

Dieffenbach made the big play after sustaining an apparent leg injury on a hard hit late in the first half.

With the defense holding the Spartans to just 156 total yards of offense — 73 of which came in the fourth quarter with UCLA in control — Dieffenbach didn’t have to be perfect to secure the win. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, UCLA refused to allow a forward push at the line of scrimmage, flying into the backfield and holding Michigan State to 1.6 yards per carry.

UCLA running back Wayne Knight scores a touchdown in the second quarter against Michigan State on Saturday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

And when the Spartans tried to pass, the Bruins dug deeper, making it a nightmare for Coffman until Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald turned to fourth-string quarterback Leo Hannan. UCLA finished with four sacks, six tackles for a loss and five quarterback hurries, essentially living in the Spartans’ backfield.

The Bruins sealed their seventh consecutive victory with an interception from safety Malik Hartford, his second forced turnover of the game.

The UCLA defense was one of the team’s biggest liabilities during the past decade, stretching from the Chip Kelly era to last season’s three-win effort.

This season, UCLA hasn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 15 points since Sept. 19.

Behind a standout performance from quarterback Ty Dieffenbach in his first UCLA start, the No. 12 Bruins defeated Wisconsin 17-7 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

Dieffenbach orchestrated a six-play, 89-yard drive in the fourth quarter to help seal the win for the Bruins, who clinched bowl eligibility by improving to 6-0 under coach Bob Chesney. UCLA is the only undefeated team in the Big Ten.

Although UCLA (6-0, 4-0) entered with one of the most potent ground attacks in the nation, the Badgers’ (4-2, 2-1) stalwart defense — a unit that ranked No. 15 in total defense and ninth in passing yards allowed heading into the game — held UCLA to just 3.2 yards per carry. Heisman Trophy contender Wayne Knight was limited to just 29 all-purpose yards, though he scored his 12th touchdown of the season.

With UCLA struggling to get a push at the point of attack and the Wisconsin defense sealing the edge, the Bruins put their trust in Dieffenbach, who started in his first Football Bowl Subdivision game following Nico Iamaleava sustaining a knee injury against Oregon last week that could keep the senior out for the remainder of the season.

The understudy shined in the spotlight.

Even though expectations were tempered for Dieffenbach, he largely did not miss a beat, completing 22 of 33 passes for 264 yards — better than any single-game passing yards total Iamaleava has produced at UCLA.

Dieffenbach set up UCLA’s first touchdown in the second quarter when he completed a 21-yard pass to Jalen Saint Paul one play before Knight scored on a one-yard carry.

UCLA running back Wayne Knight breaks a tackle from Wisconsin safety Marvin Burks Jr. during the second quarter Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA’s second score — a touchdown that put the Bruins up 10 points in the fourth quarter — capped Dieffenbach’s most impressive drive. Starting at the UCLA 11, Dieffenbach connected on passes of 28 and 33 yards on a drive that culminated with Anthony Woods scoring on a three-yard run.

Dieffenbach looked poised in the pocket as he made passes under pressure. He excelled on third down, with UCLA converting on 13 of 20 tries. He threw one interception, which came on a Hail Mary as expired in the second quarter, and took just one sack.

Giving Dieffenbach some breathing room, UCLA’s defense dominated again, holding Wisconsin to 214 total yards. Even without UCLA starting outside cornerback Rodrick Pleasant, the Bruins’ secondary blanketed the Badgers in coverage, giving up just 66 passing yards, with Wisconsin’s top receiver Jaylon Domingeaux finishing with 26 yards.

Wisconsin running back Darrion Dupree is tackled by UCLA defensive lineman Sahir West during the second quarter.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

And while the “Bruin Bullies” held up at the line of scrimmage against the Badgers’ tailbacks, Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph ran for 71 yards and one touchdown, using various formations and fakes to confuse the Bruins’ stacked box.

While UCLA failed to produce a takeaway for the first time this season — despite forcing two fumbles, both of which were recovered by Wisconsin — the Bruins made several key stops to help UCLA stay in control.

A 10-yard sack from fifth-year linebacker Jalen Woods on third down late in the second quarter led to an unsuccessful 46-yard field-goal attempt by Gavin Lahm, leaving Wisconsin scoreless at halftime.

UCLA wide receiver Brian Rowe Jr. celebrates after making a catch in the second quarter Saturday against Wisconsin.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

After Wisconsin scored its only touchdown and subsequently forced UCLA into a three-and-out late in the third quarter, the Badgers had the ball with a chance to take the lead. But the Bruins forced two incomplete passes and stuffed Joseph at the line to force a punt.

In the fourth quarter, UCLA stopped running back Darrion Dupree short of a first down on fourth-and-two at the Bruins’ 48 to all but end the Badgers’ hopes of a comeback.

ATLANTA — Without Andy Pages, the Dodgers wouldn’t have popped champagne in the Truist Park visiting clubhouse Wednesday night.

His October track record suggested he was an unlikely hero. He entered Wednesday with a .123 playoff batting average. He was benched in Game 5 of the World Series last year. He’d even started this postseason hitless in the first two games of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, and was given the red light on ABS challenges.

He didn’t carry any of that up to the plate with him in the seventh inning, with the score tied, the bases loaded and hard-throwing Braves reliever Robert Suarez entering the game to face him.

“I like being in those at-bats,” Pages said in Spanish after the Dodgers’ 4-1 win in Game 4 of the NLDS. “There are times the result comes, sometimes not, but I prepare to be in those spots. And today I was able to get the result.”

He was patient, working a full count as he fouled off and then foul-tipped a pair of fastballs in the zone.

The next one, he sent through the middle of the infield for a two-run single to finally give the Dodgers the lead in the deciding moment of the series.

The Dodgers are headed to the NL Championship Series for the ninth time in 14 seasons. They will play the Milwaukee Brewers, who finished off the San Diego Padres in four games, starting Sunday. And they came one step closer to their goal of winning a third straight World Series.

Pages has contributed to the last two titles with his regular-season play and his glove. The game-saving catch he made in Game 7 of the World Series last year, trampling Kiké Hernández in the process, has been immortalized in bobblehead form. But now, he has a big moment with his bat.

“There’s never been a doubt about him, his talent,” Hernández said. “You can’t carry previous postseasons into this postseason. Everything is a new chapter. Every time you take the field in October, you get an opportunity to rewrite your story. So the fact that he struggled in the previous couple postseasons doesn’t mean that was going to happen again this year.

“I mean, during the regular season, you have two bad games and nobody freaks out about it, but because people are adding up previous postseasons, they’re going to freak out. But nobody doubted him. That’s why he stayed in the lineup. And I’m really happy that he was the one that won us a series.”

The signs of a potential breakout were there. When Pages came back from a fractured left hand for the final week of the season, he didn’t miss a beat.

Then he went 0 for 7 in the first two games of the NLDS, and manager Dave Roberts said he wanted to see him “slow down a little bit.”

“I’m going to continue to give Andy leash,” Roberts said. “I believe in him. I feel that for us to win the World Series this year, we’re gonna need him to be an active part of our team.”

Pages recorded two hits in Game 3 and logged another single in his first at-bat Wednesday.

• Share via Close extra sharing options

“Everybody really forgets how young Andy Pages is, you know?” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said of the 25-year-old. “He’s just starting his career. He’s still like a rookie in this clubhouse for us, because he’s one of the youngest. But at the same time, we see his potential, we see what he can do on the field and we feel so proud of him because … whenever he has the opportunity to contribute to this team, he does it in different ways. Defensively, offensively and on the bases.”

On Wednesday, Pages already had showed off his range in center field when he tracked down a fly ball off Matt Olson’s bat in the left-field gap. But the Dodgers desperately needed someone to contribute with runners in scoring position.

The game had been tied at one run apiece since the second inning.

The lone run Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow gave up was made possible by Braves leadoff hitter Michael Harris II’s speed. He got on top of Glasnow’s first pitch, a fastball up and out of the strike zone, to shoot a single through the right side.

Harris then stole second and advanced on a groundout. Then, in an 0-and-2 count to Ozzie Albies, Glasnow spiked a curveball in front of the plate. Catcher Will Smith managed to block the ball, despite the high bounce, but it rolled back toward the mound, giving Harris time to dash home.

Glasnow limited the Braves to one hit in 4-2/3 innings. But five walks prevented him from pitching deeper into the game.

The Dodgers couldn’t get anything going against Braves starter Tyler Mahle, either.

They hadn’t faced Mahle since April, when he was with the San Francisco Giants and racking up a 5.13 ERA. But he’d been lights out since the Braves acquired him, authoring a 1.99 ERA. In his postseason debut, he limited the Philadelphia Phillies to one run in seven innings.

The Dodgers saw that new and improved version of him on Wednesday.

The one run the Dodgers scored against him was something of a fluke.

In the second inning, Shohei Ohtani, who moved up to the cleanup spot after hitting fifth the day before, drew a five-pitch walk without taking a swing. He then stole second base, drawing an errant throw that allowed him to advance to third. So, he was in position to score the tying run when Braves shortstop Mauricio Dubón, who robbed Freddie Freeman of a home run as the left fielder the day before, dropped a popup in shallow left.

The Dodgers recorded only three hits against Mahle in 6⅓ innings. So, the game would come down to the bullpens.

In the seventh, the Dodgers loaded the bases with a single from Teoscar Hernández, a walk from pinch-hitting rookie Josue De Paula, and a five-pitch walk from Kyle Tucker.

The Dodgers had gone 0 for 15 with runners in scoring position for the series when Pages stepped to the plate.

“It’s been incredible, especially the way he’s working, just to be ready for these big moments,” Teoscar Hernández said. “I think he was a little bit off his timing at the beginning of the series. Now that he understands he doesn’t have to do too much to help this team win games, I think everything is coming back to the way it was before he got hurt.

“He’s one of the best on the team. We get to this point because of him, the regular season he had. This is not a surprise for me that he’s having this kind of moment in the playoffs.”

Pages didn’t seem surprised, either.

“What happened last year, happened,” he said. “It’s in the past now. All I can do now is be in the moment. And being in the moment today, I was able to get the result.”