UCLA’s 28-10 win over San Diego State had the same familiar shape as last week’s victory over Cal: a run-heavy fight that stayed tight until the fourth quarter, then suddenly tilted hard in the Bruins’ favor.
At the Rose Bowl, the Bruins moved to 2-0 behind a late offensive burst that finished the job. After three quarters of grinding, UCLA scored 21 points in the final stretch and left no doubt by the end.
The game still had a rough edge to it for UCLA, though, and Nico Iamaleava ran into the same problem he did a week earlier. In the red zone, he tried a cross-body floater to the far side of the end zone, and San Diego State picked it off, wiping out a chance for the Bruins to grab the lead.
Once UCLA settled back in, the ground game took over. Wayne Knight followed up his strong debut with another big night, pounding out 97 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. That kind of production made a clear statement about where he stands in the backfield.
The Bruins’ running backs as a group kept the pressure on all night. The room finished with four total touchdowns and 214 rushing yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
That usage fits the way Dean Kennedy and Bob Chesney have been deploying the offense. Knight has become a focal point, and the red zone has only sharpened that role.
San Diego State kept trying to attack deep, but UCLA’s secondary shut the door. The Aztecs managed just 45 receiving yards, with the Bruins blanketing their wideouts from start to finish.
Malik Hartford and Ta’Shawn James were central to that effort. Hartford led UCLA with 10 total tackles, added three solo tackles, and broke up a pass. James turned in a busy stat line of his own with five total tackles, a pass deflection, a half sack, and a tackle for loss.
After some concern about the Bruins’ deep coverage against Cal, this was a much cleaner showing from Colin Hitschler’s group. The improvement was obvious, and it helped UCLA finish off a game that followed the same script as the one before it, only with a more decisive ending.
In Other News...
UCLA Snap Trends Reveal Who Bruins Already Trust Most
Through the first two weeks of the UCLA football season, the snap counts have already shown where the Bruins are most comfortable leaning. Brian Rowe has been a key part of the passing game, appearing in more than half of the offenses snaps, while the offensive line has settled into a clear rotation built around heavy usage from Schmidt and Jordan Davis. The early signs point to a unit that has found stability up front, especially in run blocking, which is often where a coaching staffs trust shows up first.
On the other side of the ball, Hartford has become just as important in the secondary, working nearly every defensive snap and helping cover for the absence of an injured teammate. Those usage patterns say a lot about how UCLA is sorting out its core pieces this early in the season, but they also raise a familiar question for any staff trying to build depth: how long can the Bruins keep asking the same players to carry so much of the load before the rest of the rotation has to answer? [Read more 🡒]
UCLAs 2-0 Start Comes With One Clear Concern Fans Cant Ignore
UCLAs 2-0 start has the kind of early-season polish any team would take, especially after a 28-10 win over San Diego State in Week Two. The defense again did plenty of the heavy lifting, with linebackers Jalen Woods and Sammy Omosigho standing out and Hartford helping keep the Aztecs from getting much going through the air. Woods also came up with a key interception, another reminder that the Bruins have had no trouble finding impact plays on that side of the ball.
The bigger question sits on offense, where Nico Iamaleava has not yet had many chances to settle in as a passer and has already thrown a costly interception. With the receiver group dealing with injuries, Semaj Morgan has been asked to step into a larger role and has responded, but the passing game still looks like the place where UCLA has the most room to grow. A 2-0 start gives the Bruins breathing room, but it also makes the contrast easier to see, and it is the one concern fans are unlikely to ignore for long. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Fans Have A New Reason To Watch The 2027 Class This Week
UCLA fans checking in on the 2027 class got a nice reminder this week that the Bruins are already collecting defenders who can swing a game. Linebacker commit Mike Davis Jr. turned in a huge outing for Mater Dei, finishing with eight tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack in a tight 10-9 win over Corona Centennial, the kind of performance that shows why he has become such an intriguing part of UCLAs future.
Davis also delivered the play that changed the shape of the night, coming up with a fourth-quarter interception that helped set up Mater Deis game-winning touchdown. He was hardly the only UCLA commit making noise, either, with other pledges coming off strong recent performances as the Bruins 2027 group continues to build momentum, and there are more chances ahead with another slate of games on the calendar for those recruits this week. [Read more 🡒]