PASADENA - The Rose Bowl got a taste of Big Ten football on Friday night, and UCLA handled it better than Illinois did.
In ugly weather and a game that turned into a slog, the fourth-ranked Bruins stayed unbeaten with a 22-14 win over Illinois, moving to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big Ten while matching the program’s single-season wins record.
This one belonged to UCLA’s defense as much as anything else. Every time the offense hit a rough patch, the Bruins’ defense found a way to steady the night. That was especially true after quarterback Ty Dieffenbach threw an untimely interception in the end zone and later left for most of the third quarter after getting hurt.
UCLA forced three interceptions from Illinois quarterback Katin Houser, pushed its Big Ten-leading turnover total to 30, and added a safety when edge rusher Aidan Gobaira brought Houser down in the end zone. Illinois still had a chance to make things interesting late, but Scooter Jackson shut that down with his second interception of the game with 2:42 remaining.
After that, UCLA added a 37-yard Mateen Bhaghani field goal to stretch the lead to eight, and the defense finished the job by smothering Illinois’ last possession with 43 seconds left.
Dieffenbach came back for the fourth quarter and gave UCLA the kind of drive it needed after Illinois had briefly clawed back into the game. He finished with 232 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and he kept leaning on wide receiver Aiden Mizell, who caught six passes for 176 yards and a touchdown and topped 100 yards for the second straight game.
The Bruins struck first and fast. Rain had been falling during warmups and kept interrupting the action throughout the night, but it didn’t slow UCLA on its opening series. On the fifth play from scrimmage, Mizell got loose down the right sideline, caught Dieffenbach’s throw and turned it into a 54-yard touchdown.
Illinois answered with a chance of its own late in the first quarter, but Jackson read the play and picked off Houser in the end zone. UCLA couldn’t fully cash in after that, because Dieffenbach gave the ball right back with a costly interception of his own in the end zone.
Even so, the Bruins’ defense kept the pressure on. Illinois was forced into back-to-back short drives, and UCLA turned those stops into points with Bhaghani’s 20-yard field goal and enough time to add more before halftime.
With 51 seconds left in the half and two timeouts in hand, UCLA tried to push for another score, but Dieffenbach was injured while throwing the ball away. Madden Iamaleava took over for most of the third quarter, and the Bruins leaned on field position while the defense kept holding.
That approach paid off when Illinois was pinned near its own goal line. Gobaira sacked Houser in the end zone for a safety, giving UCLA more breathing room.
Then came a curious decision from head coach Bob Chesney. After trusting the defense and playing conservatively, he left Iamaleava and the offense on the field for a fourth-and-2 from Illinois’ 46-yard line. Wayne Knight was stopped on the run, and Illinois used the momentum from that stop to drive 54 yards for a touchdown, trimming the lead to 12-7 with 1:13 left in the third quarter.
Dieffenbach returned to a roar from the Rose Bowl crowd and immediately steadied UCLA again. On the next drive, he connected with Semaj Morgan for a 26-yard touchdown to restore a two-score cushion.
Illinois wasn’t done. Houser hit Hudson Clement on a key third-and-14, then found Collin Dixon for two more completions, including a 27-yard gain that set up a 7-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal. Dixon’s work on that sequence backed up Chesney’s comparison of him to Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
But when Illinois got the ball back with a chance to take the lead, Jackson came through again. On third-and-18 from the 42-yard line, he stepped in front of Dixon for his second interception.
UCLA’s final defensive stand was just as decisive. After the Bruins added the late field goal, defensive end Sahir West sacked Houser and forced him out of the game, sealing the win.
The Bruins survived the weather, the turnovers and the late push from Illinois to stay unbeaten. With Michigan and No. 18 USC still ahead, UCLA can clinch a spot in next month’s Big Ten championship game depending on Saturday’s results.
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The defense did its part to protect the lead, forcing a safety and getting two interceptions from Scooter Jackson to help close it out. Even with the win in hand, the concern around Dieffenbach lingers as UCLA moves forward, because the Bruins have shown enough already to know how much their ceiling depends on him staying on the field. [Read more 🡒]