In the most complimentary way, I ask: What the heck was that first half, UCLA?
Yes, really. With Saturday’s 28-10 victory over Michigan State, Bob Chesney has the Bruins football team 7-0 for the first time since 2005. Still undefeated and still the only team in the Big Ten — and SEC — conferences that can say so. Ranked No. 9 in the nation and moving on up.
And so I ask: Two lost fumbles before halftime? Two drops? Two holding penalties? A meager 84 yards through the air and a modest 14-7 halftime lead? Against a majorly depleted Michigan State team fielding a freshman third-stringer at quarterback — that also lost two more of its best players to injury in the first half?
These Bruins are too good to be letting the wounded Spartans (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) hang with them for even a half.
And yet, for a hot moment, doubt started to creep back in: Was this the day Chesney’s chariot turned back into a pumpkin? Was the last petal from the enchanted rose about to fall, this beauty of a season due to turn ugly? Was the fairy tale almost over?
No. The nation’s best second-half team gathered itself — “at halftime in the locker room, guys coming over, ‘Let’s go, man. We got you!” quarterback Ty Dieffenbach said — exerted its will and outscored the Spartans 14-0 in the third quarter. They mercifully ran out the clock with a commanding 28-7 lead going into the fourth and improved to a tidy 5-0 in the Big Ten.
It’s what Chesney’s teams do.
Last season at James Madison, the Dukes led the nation in second-half scoring, averaging 20.9 points per game.
And this charmed season at UCLA, the Bruins came into Saturday’s game averaging the second-most second-half points in the nation (20.8).
Being able to bear down and wear down opponents is a sign of a good team.
Being able to jump on them at the outset would be the sign of a great one.
Let’s fast-forward a year. You’ve stopped pinching yourself to make sure you aren’t dreaming and the Bruins — who were unranked and unheralded to start the season after so many years of ineptitude — really are in control of their own College Football Playoff destiny.
UCLA linebacker Donavyn Pellot celebrates with linebacker Sammy Omosigho, left, after a 67-yard interception return against Michigan State on Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A year from now, you’ll have been conditioned to expect them to win these games, and you’ll no longer be worried about whether this was all a dream.
But you would be concerned about slow starts. You’d bemoan sluggish opening acts and fret about how that might bite the Bruins in the big games that are looming.
Chesney doesn’t have to make that imaginative leap into the future.
He’s worried about it now. And that’s why his Bruins are legitimately a team to contend with, because he’s coaching them to be that. He expects it: “When you walk on that field on Saturday, you walk out and know that you’ve done it the right way, and that’s how you treat something that’s important. Not special, but important.”
And so I ask: Why didn’t UCLA treat the first half like it was important Saturday?
“Two fumbles, two drops, two holding penalties? You can’t do it, you just can’t do it if you want to win really close games,” said Chesney, the first-year UCLA coach, who said he’d spend the week before the Bruins host Nevada in a nonconference Halloween game by emphasizing ball security at practice and that he’d watch the tape to determine what triggered the holding penalties.
“We’re taking three, four touchdowns off the board by doing that,” Chesney added. “Never going to let this happen again.”
UCLA can’t because it doesn’t have any room for error.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney works with players before a 28-10 win over Michigan State at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
If the Bruins win out, Chesney will have directed an underdog to a surprise CFP berth for the second consecutive season. But if the Bruins lose a game, it gets dicey.
Never mind the rows of recruits at Saturday’s victory, and forget for a moment about the fans who are slowly finding their way back to the Rose Bowl for Bruins football games. UCLA needs to continue to impress the computers and the pollsters and CFP committee members who could eventually determine UCLA’s fate if the Bruins don’t do it themselves.
And though no fault of Chesney’s, UCLA is playing a soft schedule. Per ESPN, the Bruins’ slate was the 51st easiest coming into the season and what remains of it is the 64th easiest.
And UCLA, which is winning behind a backup quarterback, which went 3-9 last season and which had so much ground to cover after starting the season outside of the top 25 — won’t likely get anyone’s benefit of the doubt if a first-half lull leads to a loss.
The Bruins are proving themselves probably the best team in the nation after halftime.
If they can do that, why not aim to be the best team in the nation?
It marked the first time UCLA defeated Oregon since 2017. The win was the Bruins’ first at Autzen Stadium since 2004. And Bob Chesney became the first UCLA head coach to start his tenure 5-0.
Sunday came with one more breakthrough: The Bruins cracked the top 15 in the Associated Press’ Top 25 for the first time since 2022.
UCLA’s 17-15 victory over Oregon proved that the Bruins deserved a spot in the upper echelons of the Big Ten. Not only did UCLA leave Oregon with an undefeated record — one win away from being bowl eligible — but the Bruins also will returned to Los Angeles with three consecutive home games on the schedule, a stretch that could push them farther up the totem pole.
“It doesn’t matter. Now we have to get better,” Chesney told reporters after the win. “How do we get better? We go back and look at the things we need to fix. We evaluate our personnel and see where we stand once we figure out whether some of these guys are coming back next week. There’s a lot of football left to be played, so it doesn’t matter. Getting better is always the message when we turn the corner.”
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Here are three takeaways from UCLA’s fifth win, which kept the Bruins among nine remaining undefeated Football Bowl Subdivision schools and avenged one of Chesney’s two losses last season when his magical run at James Madison ended against Oregon.
Colin Hitschler can bounce back with the best
The week leading up to defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler’s rematch against Oregon featured reminders about how the Ducks steamrolled his Dukes’ defense last season in the College Football Playoff, finishing with 51 points and 514 yards.
And Hitschler acknowledged that Ducks coach Dan Lanning’s offense got the best of him, leaving him with a chip on his shoulder.
His “Bruin Bullies” made their presence felt from the first whistle to the last, forcing seven turnovers — five fumble recoveries and two interceptions, categories in which UCLA now ranks first and second, respectively, in the nation.
And while Oregon quarterback Dante Moore remained sidelined because of a head injury, backup Dylan Raiola — who spent the previous two seasons as Nebraska’s starter — was a highly regarded talent and expected to challenge the UCLA defense, particularly after throwing for 289 yards and two scores against USC last month.
UCLA defensive lineman Darold DeNgohe tackles Oregon quarterback Brock Thomas on Saturday in Eugene.
(Lydia Ely / Associated Press)
The Bruins gave Raiola more headaches than anything else as he finished with 43 passing yards and three turnovers before he was benched for third-stringer Brock Thomas in the fourth quarter.
And even when Thomas entered for Raiola, the Ducks’ offensive weapons largely flatlined despite their perceived superior status.
Running back duo Dierre Hill Jr. and Jordon Davison — who combined for 238 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against the Trojans — and tight end Jamari Johnson, who torched the USC defense for seven catches and 119 yards, were limited to a combined 111 all-purpose yards and just one score.
The Bruins’ defense was everywhere in Eugene, limiting the run game to 2.7 yards per carry, largely blanketing pass catchers in coverage downfield and forcing turnovers at every level.
“We don’t focus on outside chatter,” senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho said after the win. “That has no meaning to us, no focus to us, no value to us. We focus on ourselves.”
Bruins’ QB concerns aren’t going anywhere
Many observers who watched Saturday’s showdown will tell you the Bruins should have won more handily.
The Bruins almost doubled the Ducks in time of possession, yet there was a chance for Oregon to win on the last drive of the game.
UCLA had to overcome its own problems, with quarterback Nico Iamaleava battling Raiola for most turnovers and questionable decisions under pressure.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney calls to his players.
(Lydia Ely / Associated Press)
Iamaleava got off to a slow start this season as UCLA relied on its potent rushing attack. He rebounded against Purdue and Maryland, combining for 485 yards and four touchdowns with zero turnovers.
While Iamaleava went 10 for 17 for 162 yards in the first half, his mistakes came at especially costly times for the Bruins.
During UCLA’s second drive, the Bruins were pinned on their 10-yard line. With Oregon outside linebacker Nasir Wyatt blitzing, Iamaleava attempted to throw the ball away to the flat and instead fumbled, giving the Ducks the ball on the Bruins’ one-yard-line. Oregon scored one of its two touchdowns immediately after the turnover.
Later in the half, Iamaleava threw two interceptions, the first at midfield and the second coming at Oregon’s 22-yard line, wiping out a field-goal opportunity.
Iamaleava struggled with accuracy and timing, underthrowing a deep ball to wide receiver Aidan Mizell on the first play of the game — a pass that arguably could have been a touchdown if Mizell was hit in stride — and mistiming a pass to running back Jaivian Thomas, who was wide open in the end zone, on third and goal during the same drive.
Iamaleava was facing a formidable Ducks defense, the best unit the Bruins have played to date, and was injured during the second interception. He did not return to the field after sustaining a leg injury near the end of the first half, and it is unclear how long he will be sidelined.
Backup Ty Dieffenbach steered UCLA to a win, but the Bruins need better quarterback depth.
UCLA is a playoff contender
The Bruins celebrate their win over the Oregon Ducks.
(Tom Hauck / Getty Images)
Saturday was more than just a win. It was a bold announcement to the rest of the Big Ten and the nation that UCLA is a playoff contender.
Chesney told fans during a UCLA men’s basketball game shortly after he was hired that the football team is playing for banners. And Saturday’s win proved that his plan to pursue championships — something that seemed absurd amid a lost 2025 season — has a real possibility of paying off with one.
The Bruins have one of the easier schedules in the Big Ten with seven games remaining. UCLA will play five home games, including with 2-4 Michigan State, 2-3 Nevada of the Mountain West and 3-3 Illinois.
While UCLA still has road games at Michigan and Minnesota and competitive home games against Wisconsin and USC, the Bruins proved Saturday that they can hang in any environment, frustrating the Ducks at hostile Autzen Stadium.
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Big Ten confirms a big mistake
The Big Ten released a statement Sunday announcing its officials placed the ball at the wrong spot during Oregon’s final failed two-point conversion attempt after a UCLA penalty. The ball should have been placed at the half-yard line instead of the 1½-yard line. The lead officially announced the correct placement, but the crew never moved the ball.
UCLA’s defense stuffed the two-point conversion attempt, and the Bruins went on to secure a 17-15 win.
The mistake has drawn limited outrage, with fans more concerned about the number of errors by Big Ten officials this season than about them potentially thwarting Oregon’s chance to tie the score. That probably has a lot to do with the number of mistakes the Ducks made and the perception the Bruins outplayed them.
Dieffenbach has long embraced change
Before Ty Dieffenbach was asked to lead UCLA’s offense in the second half at Oregon, he began his high school career in Southern California as a wide receiver.
The Times’ Eric Sondheimer spoke with Dieffenbach ahead of his senior season about his switch to playing quarterback for Agoura, a team that needed a signal-caller and quickly developed a prolific one.
Agoura coach Dustin Croick told Sondheimer he wouldn’t have asked Dieffenbach to play the position just because of the 6-foot-5 athlete’s arm strength. Croick detected something else.
“We can teach kids how to throw, how to read defenses, but the leadership has to be a natural thing,” Croick said.
The two have stayed in touch as Dieffenbach spent two seasons at Pittsburgh without playing before transferring to Cal Poly and starting for one season. Dieffenbach then joined UCLA during the offseason and prepared as though he could be asked to play at any time.
Dieffenbach celebrated with the high school coach who first believed in his quarterback skills via Facetime after UCLA’s win.
Agoura football coach Dustin Croick was busy with relatives in town. He turned off his phone. Then he saw 173 text messages. Then he faced timed with his former QB Ty Dieffenbach after UCLA beat Oregon. Emotional day. pic.twitter.com/eyn5YD6Uva
The Valkyries became the first WNBA expansion team to reach the playoffs in its first season and the Finals in its second.
“I told them that I was proud of our whole team, the whole 14, because I saw another level of fight tonight,” Nakase said after the clinching win. “And that’s what I was really proud of. We talked about leveling up one more as a team and I think that overtime proved strength in numbers. We really left it all out there on the floor. We really emptied the tank.”
Golden State hosts the Atlanta Dream at 12:30 p.m. Saturday to open the Finals. The Dream notably are led by UCLA alum Jordin Canada, the the starting point guard and ignition to their offense.
Bruins on deck
Wednesday, Oct. 14 Women’s basketball at California (exhibition)
Thursday, Oct. 15 Women’s tennis at ITA Regional Championships, all day Men’s tennis at ITA Regional Championships, all day
Friday, Oct. 16 Women’s tennis at ITA Regional Championships, all day Men’s tennis at ITA Regional Championships, all day Women’s golf at Stanford Intercollegiate, all day Men’s golf at Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational, all day Men’s soccer at Wisconsin, 5 p.m. Women’s volleyball vs. Penn State, 7 p.m. Women’s soccer vs. Washington, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 17 Women’s tennis at ITA Regional Championships, all day Men’s tennis at ITA Regional Championships, all day Cross country at UC Riverside, 8 a.m. Men’s water polo at USC, 1 p.m. Football vs. Wisconsin, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 18 Women’s tennis at ITA Regional Championships, all day Men’s tennis at ITA Regional Championships, all day Women’s volleyball vs. Ohio State, 3 p.m.
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Sports editor Iliana Limón Romero contributed to this report.
