For most of Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, UCLA looked stuck in first gear.
The Bruins’ offense never found much rhythm in the home opener, the protection around Nico Iamaleava was shaky, and the traditional ground game never really showed up. But Wayne Knight kept the Bruins afloat, then carried them home. His third rushing touchdown of the night - a 36-yard burst with 2:18 left - sealed a 28-10 win over San Diego State and gave UCLA a 2-0 start in Bob Chesney’s first season.
Knight has been the finishing force in both of UCLA’s wins. He scored three rushing touchdowns for the second straight week and finished with 97 yards on 13 carries, turning a tight fourth quarter into a comfortable final margin. The Bruins led just 7-3 entering the fourth before Knight and a suddenly opportunistic defense slammed the door.
That late surge masked a long stretch of frustration.
UCLA went scoreless in the first half and opened the game with a three-and-out. San Diego State’s coverage and pressure made life difficult for Iamaleava, who spent much of the night escaping the pocket just to keep drives alive. His one real first-half scoring chance ended badly: rolling right on third down in the second quarter, he tried to throw back toward the middle of the end zone off his back foot and was picked off by Aztecs cornerback Mike Lindsay.
Iamaleava finished 14-of-22 for 151 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Through two games, he still hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass. He also carried 14 times for 58 yards, a heavy load for a quarterback UCLA will want healthy when Big Ten play arrives.
The offensive line did him few favors. Pressure showed up too often, and the Bruins’ designed runs and scrambles exposed Iamaleava to extra contact.
UCLA also entered the game without starting wideouts Mikey Matthews and Landon Ellis, which pushed Michigan transfer Semaj Morgan into a bigger role. Morgan answered with six catches for 73 yards and was one of the few reliable sources of production through the air.
While the offense searched for answers, UCLA’s defense kept the game from slipping away.
San Diego State leaned on Lucky Sutton and the run early, and for a while it worked. Sutton found room inside while the Bruins struggled to create penetration or fill lanes. UCLA responded by crowding the line with five- and six-man fronts, and after halftime the adjustment started to take hold.
The Bruins were much sharper against the run in the second half and forced Jayden Denegal into more obvious passing situations. That played into UCLA’s hands.
Denegal went just 9-of-22 for 45 yards, and San Diego State converted only two of 11 third downs. Sutton still finished with 80 yards on 18 carries, but most of his damage came before UCLA settled in.
The first real separation came on UCLA’s opening drive of the second half, when Knight punched in an eight-yard touchdown to put the Bruins on top 7-0.
San Diego State trimmed that lead with a 46-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, but the game turned fast after that. Knight scored again from seven yards out with 7:17 to go, then linebacker Jalen Woods intercepted Denegal deep in Aztecs territory to hand the Bruins another short field. Jaivian Thomas finished that drive with a one-yard touchdown, stretching the lead to 21-3.
Woods ended the night with nine tackles, a sack and the interception. Safety Malik Hartford led UCLA with 10 tackles.
San Diego State managed its only touchdown after that, but Knight answered almost immediately with his long run to put the game away and give him six rushing touchdowns through two games as a Bruin.
It was the same story UCLA wrote in its opener against Cal: not a clean performance, but a strong finish. The Bruins scored 21 fourth-quarter points last week and again found their best football late on Saturday.
There are still plenty of concerns. Iamaleava is still searching for his first touchdown pass.
The line gave up too much pressure. The Bruins leaned on their quarterback’s legs more than they’d like.
Penalties also remain an issue, with UCLA flagged eight times for 70 yards after drawing 12 penalties against Cal.
But Chesney’s team has already shown it can survive messy nights and still walk away with a win. Against Cal, it was fourth-quarter turnovers. Against San Diego State, it was defense, patience and Knight.
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There were contributions across the board from Bruins alumni, too, with Kaimi Fairbairn, Jake Brendel, Kenny Clark and others turning in notable work for their teams. For UCLA, the bigger takeaway is how quickly its former players are carving out visible roles at the next level, even if the full opening-week picture is still only beginning to take shape. [Read more 🡒]