unbeaten

Oh for cryin’ out loud. Everybody knows that The Times worships USC sports, but do you people really hate UCLA that much?

You run Plaschke’s assertion that the Bruins have “The best college football team in America” right there on page D1, Sunday morning, to be read by everybody everywhere. You know what happens now, right? Right?

Stephen Mattson
Los Osos

Congratulations to the Bruins for starting the season 9-0, but before Plaschke (aka “The Rams will go undefeated” he predicted before playing their first game) crowns them as the national champions, he should take a look at their current strength of schedule.

It’s about 77th, with the opponents combined record about 27-40, including such teams as California, San Diego State and Nevada ranked 94th or worse. They have beaten just one currently ranked team, Oregon at 13th, and given the expansion of the Big Ten have drawn a very soft conference schedule.

So far so good, but let’s wait until January for the hyperbole.

John Schiermeier
Valencia

I had hoped and prayed that the Bruins could fly under his radar until Nov. 28. But alas, I opened my L.A. Times this morning and there on the front page of the sports section was the death warrant for UCLA’s football season. Another over the top, hyperbolic column by the one and only Bill Plaschke. It is an undeniable kiss of death. Take Illinois on the moneyline and bet the farm.

Kevin Hennings
Laguna Hills

Did UCLA have to pay coach Bob Chesney or did he just come to coach for free after seeing UCLA’s schedule? 9-0 is a good story but “where’s the beef” in their schedule? They beat a ranked Oregon team, but it was shortly after Oregon lost their first-string quarterback. Now they have a mediocre Illinois and a sinking Michigan (just fired their offensive coordinator). I guess if they can beat USC I will give them some due credit, but then I want to see them beat a top-five ranked team in the playoff. Then they can pay Chesney.

Allen Schanhaar
Redondo Beach

Manchester City won the WSL title impressively last season but externally, there was an expectation Chelsea would bounce back.

Bompastor was more cautious, insisting they were still transitioning after the departures of big-name players including Sam Kerr, Millie Bright and Guro Reiten.

She said: “You need to consider the fact that Chelsea had the same coach for 12 years. It takes a while for players to adjust to a new coach, a new way of playing and a philosophy.

“Even if you have really good players, it doesn’t just go like this. There are a lot of things we are doing behind the scenes for us to stay successful.

“I was lucky enough to come in when [Hayes] left the team in a really good place. But last season we had a year where a lot of important players left.”

But captain Erin Cuthbert said she was “not really” surprised at how good their level has been so far.

“We had a good time to build in pre-season and a good trip away. The quality was always there, we just weren’t clicking,” she added.

“Manchester City ran away with the league in the end, but we were there or thereabouts. I feel this time the team’s just gone up another level.”

As well as adapting more to Bompastor’s ways, and adding defensive solidity to a creative frontline, work has gone into improving the club’s culture.

Cuthbert said before Wednesday’s win there was “really good momentum and a good feeling” in the squad – so can they kick on now?

“For me, the mental aspects and cultural aspects are just as important,” admitted Bompastor.

“We probably needed to rebuild a little bit of that going into this new season. We reflected a lot on how we wanted to set up the process for that.

“Right now, we are in a good place. When you are able to get good results, it’s not only about the tactical aspects. It also has to be about mentality, culture and values.

“I think we have clarity on where we want to go as a team and how we want to get there, and that’s just as important.”

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.

Ally Sentnor scored the go-ahead goal in the 43rd minute as Angel City rallied from an early deficit behind three unanswered goals in a 3-2 win on the road against the Denver Summit on Saturday.

Denver forward Melissa Kössler’s tap-in off a corner kick gave Denver (10-10-8) the lead in the second minute. Midfielder Lindsey Heaps’ volley doubled the lead in the 18th. It was her fourth goal in the last three games.

Angel City responded with Sveindís Jónsdóttir scoring in the 32nd minute. Seven minutes later, Taylor Suarez scored to make it 2-2 before Sentnor scored four minutes later.

Gisele Thompson had two assists.

Angel City (13-8-7) is unbeaten in its last eight games.