PASADENA - UCLA’s first Rose Bowl home test of the Bob Chesney era came with the kind of uneven edges that usually tell you more than a clean box score ever could. The Bruins were sharp enough to beat San Diego State 28-10, but not so polished that anyone in the building would mistake this for a finished product.
That, in a nutshell, is the early Chesney formula: confidence, energy and a hard edge, with enough structure underneath to keep the whole thing moving forward. The sideline dance breaks between quarters are fine, as long as they never distract from the mission. And on Saturday, the mission looked a lot like a team learning how to win while it is still very much in the process of becoming one.
Senior wide receiver Semaj Morgan was part of that tone-setting effort, catching a game-high six passes for 73 yards. The Michigan transfer said the energy on display Saturday is nothing new for this group.
“It’s really easy,” Morgan said. “That’s just how we practice.
At practice we have a ton of energy. It’s good on good, and we get each other ready.”
UCLA’s offense had a few rough spots, including a costly interception from the San Diego State 2-yard line with 9:19 left in the second quarter. Nico Iamaleava answered that mistake by settling back in and finishing 14 of 22 for 151 yards while adding 57 rushing yards of his own.
The Bruins’ roster has taken on Chesney’s personality in another way too: it’s a mash-up of backgrounds, all pulled into the same project. Wayne Knight, one of the former James Madison players who followed Chesney to Westwood, scored the first Rose Bowl touchdown of the Chesney era.
Defensive lineman Sammy Omosigho arrived from Oklahoma. Fifth-year senior tight end Brayden Loftin helped spring Knight’s first of three rushing touchdowns with a key lead block.
“There’s a lot of different people from a lot of different places and they all came here a reason which is to fight hard and win a championship,” Chesney said. “And that’s what we needed to do.”
Knight made the most of his night, finishing with 97 rushing yards on 13 carries for UCLA (2-0). The setting mattered to him, too.
“It’s good to be home at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena,” Knight said. “Seeing those (fans) out there and it’s important.
It’s going to grow, and we are only 2-0 right now. We’ll have the Rose Bowl packed up at the end of the year.”
If the offense still has wrinkles to iron out, the defense offered a clearer snapshot of the Bruins’ growth. San Diego State came in after rushing for 237 yards in its opener, but UCLA held the Aztecs to 121 yards on 31 carries.
Senior linebacker Jalen Woods was at the center of that effort, piling up nine tackles, a sack and a highlight interception after reading a third-and-short screen and jumping the route as the Rose Bowl responded with Eight-Claps and a roar.
“Just go out and get better,” Woods said of Chesney’s message. “Being able to get out there and move on to the next opponent is very important.”
The broader picture around Chesney is bigger than one Saturday in Pasadena. From central Pennsylvania to the Rose Bowl, he is trying to give UCLA something it has not had in a while: stability and a path back toward national relevance after a long run of coaching turnover since Terry Donahue’s 20-year tenure ended after the 1995 season.
An announced crowd of 31,973 got its first look at that vision at home, and even the skeptics could see both sides of it. John Mitchell, 53, of Newbury Park, noticed the slow start but also the way UCLA finished.
“It was a little bit of a slow start,” Mitchell said. “However, we turned it around at the end, and I was pleased with it.”
The week had already produced a little extra noise when San Diego State coach Sean Lewis took a swipe at UCLA’s image before kickoff.
“I’ll take me and mine against theirs, all their polos, all their khakis, all their resources, all that,” Lewis said. “Put the ball down. Let’s go play.”
Chesney barely engaged after the win.
“I couldn’t care less about the khaki comment,” Chesney said. “I’m sure I said a lot worse when I was coaching a team that’s a level above me.
I’m sure he didn’t mean any major offense. It was a moment to get his team excited.
That’s what happens when you’re in this type of market, and I remember myself playing a team like this. You say things that wouldn’t really matter in other weeks.”
Now the focus turns to Purdue, which visits the Rose Bowl next week for UCLA’s Big Ten opener after losing 38-36 in double overtime to Wake Forest on Saturday. The Bruins enter conference play at 2-0, imperfect but moving in the right direction, and they don’t appear to think they’ve arrived anywhere near the finish line.
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