UCLA’s march through November kept right on rolling in Minneapolis, but the Bruins didn’t exactly cruise from start to finish.
For much of Saturday, this one sat squarely in the balance. It was tied 17-17 until the final 13 minutes, when UCLA ripped the game open with a 17-3 closing burst and walked out with a 34-20 road win over Minnesota. Aidan Mizell delivered the knockout blows, stacking back-to-back 75-yard touchdowns, and Scooter Jackson sealed it with an interception that ended any hope of a Gophers rally.
That finish fit the broader shape of UCLA’s season so far: a team that keeps finding answers when the game tightens. The Bruins are now 9-0, and Bob Chesney’s first season at the helm has already produced UCLA’s first 9-0 start since 1998.
With a few more wins, the path to the College Football Playoff gets a lot clearer. If UCLA gets out of Championship Weekend with 11 or more wins, it shouldn’t have to sweat a CFP bid.
Still, the Bruins left some things on the table against Minnesota.
The final score was strong, and a 34-20 road win in the Big Ten deserves that respect. But Chesney will have plenty to point to on the tape. UCLA was flagged six times, turned it over twice, and took a sack that probably should have been avoided.
Ty Dieffenbach was at the center of both giveaways. On one, he locked onto his receiver and threw into double coverage for an interception.
On the other, he tried to extend a play, escaped the pocket, and lost the ball. There was an open curl route there, and the safer throw would have kept the drive alive instead of ending in a red zone fumble.
Those mistakes didn’t sink UCLA on Saturday, but the margin gets thinner against better competition. USC or a Big Ten Championship opponent could make the Bruins pay for that kind of sloppiness.
Dieffenbach still put up more than 300 passing yards, and roughly half of that came on two late plays. That’s been the story for much of his starting run: steady production, flashes of big-play ability, and just enough hesitation or turnover trouble to keep him from fully taking off.
The other concern is the slow start. UCLA didn’t score its second touchdown until just before the halfway point of the third quarter, and that’s become a recurring issue, especially away from home. In a postseason setting, that kind of sluggish opening could become a real problem.
If the Bruins do reach the Big Ten Championship game, Indiana would be waiting as the defending national champion. UCLA will need to be much sharper than it was for long stretches against Minnesota if it wants to handle that kind of opponent. For now, though, the Bruins still have three games left to keep building momentum and try to put together a complete performance.
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Oregon Just Raised The Stakes In The Big Ten Race
UCLA has quietly turned into one of the more dangerous offensive teams in the Big Ten conversation, and the timing could not be better for a Bruins group still trying to keep its unbeaten run intact. Even without starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the offense has kept hitting explosive plays, stretching defenses vertically and finding enough balance on the ground to stay on schedule and stay in control.
That matters now because Michigan is staring at a different kind of test after a weekend that tightened the league race and raised the pressure around every remaining matchup. Ohio States loss to Oregon only sharpened the stakes, and if UCLA keeps rolling, the Bruins could make life very uncomfortable for Michigan in a game that suddenly feels a lot bigger than it did a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
UCLAs Surge Just Put The Bruins In Rare Company
A win over Minnesota and Miamis loss to Notre Dame combined to push UCLA into a familiar but still rare spot in the national conversation. The Bruins moved up to fourth in both the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll, a rise that comes with plenty of attention around the sport as Georgia climbed to No. 1 and several Big Ten teams shuffled in the rankings.
For UCLA, the bigger picture is even more striking. The Bruins nine victories already match the school mark for the biggest year-to-year improvement, and the current run has them sitting on a streak that belongs among the programs best. It is the kind of climb that changes how a season is viewed, even if the next step in the rankings race is still to be determined. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Suddenly Has A Real Opening After Wild AP Poll Chaos
The first College Football Playoff rankings brought a familiar kind of confusion, with USC landing at No. 20 even though the Trojans were rated higher in the AP Top 25. After a weekend that knocked off several top-10 teams, including Ohio State and Kentucky, the AP poll is set up for another round of movement, and USC is among the teams that should benefit from the shakeup.
For UCLA, the bigger backdrop is what all of this means in a crowded national picture. The Bruins have spent the season in the thick of the conversation as the rankings keep shifting around them, and this latest chaos only adds more intrigue to where they land when the new AP poll comes out. With conference races tightening and the top of the rankings looking increasingly unstable, every update carries real weight for a team trying to stay positioned near the front of the national chase. [Read more 🡒]