UCLA’s first trip to Maryland this season now has a kickoff time.
The Bruins will face the Terrapins on Saturday, September 26 at 10:30 a.m. PT, with the Big Ten announcing Monday that the game will air on Big Ten Network.
Both teams enter the matchup 2-0, and both have leaned hard on the run to get there. UCLA opened with a 45-24 road win over Cal after turning a 24-24 fourth-quarter tie into a comfortable finish, then followed with a 28-10 win over San Diego State at the Rose Bowl.
In the Cal game, the Bruins piled up 277 rushing yards and six touchdowns, with tailback Anthony Woods going for 118 yards and two scores and James Madison transfer Wayne Knight adding three rushing touchdowns. Knight then found the end zone three more times against San Diego State.
After UCLA’s debut win, head coach Bob Chesney said, "If you have this effort and this energy that's a good start," UCLA head coach Bob Chesney said after his debut win. "There are a ton of things that got to get cleaned up but if we can bring this effort and energy like they've done all offseason, we're always going to have a chance."
Maryland has also been dominant on the ground. The Terrapins opened by shutting out Hampton 62-0, rushing for 365 yards and six touchdowns in that game.
Iverson Howard scored twice, while DeJuan Williams had three carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Second-year quarterback Malik Washington completed 19-of-31 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown, and second-year safety Messiah Delhomme intercepted two passes.
In Week 2, Maryland beat UConn 38-14 on the road. Washington was sharp again, finishing 34-of-41 for 347 yards and two touchdowns.
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 🡒]