No. 4 UCLA has spent the fall stacking wins, and now the Bruins are one victory away from matching their best start in nearly three decades. Standing in the way Friday night in Pasadena is an Illinois team that has found its footing in a hurry.
UCLA enters at 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten after a 34-20 win at Minnesota last Saturday. That result pushed the Bruins to within one game of their 10-0 start in 1998, the last time they won a conference championship.
The latest step forward came with a big second act from quarterback Ty Dieffenbach. He finished 8 of 16 for 303 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, then picked up Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for what was easily his sharpest outing since stepping in for the injured Nico Iamaleava during UCLA’s Oct. 10 win at Oregon.
Bob Chesney liked the way Dieffenbach handled the moment, especially the way he moved past mistakes and kept firing.
“I’m impressed with how quickly he can move on from things,” Bruins head coach Bob Chesney said of Dieffenbach. “What happened previously doesn’t affect his next. He’s very quick at getting to the next play.
“There’s a lot left, though,” Chesney added. “I think he understands that.”
Illinois comes in at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, riding a four-game winning streak that has featured three straight games of holding opponents under 20 points. The Illini beat Nebraska 24-13 last Friday, even though they allowed 426 yards. The difference was how often they slammed the door when Nebraska got close, forcing long field-goal tries on two first-half drives and getting stops on a pair of fourth-down attempts in Illinois territory.
Matthew Bailey was central to that effort. The two-time All-Big Ten safety had 11 tackles and a forced fumble against Nebraska, and he leads the Illini with 66 tackles, including four for loss.
He’ll be part of the challenge for an UCLA offense that can attack in a lot of different ways on the ground. Wayne Knight, Anthony Woods and Jaivian Thomas each average at least 30.7 rushing yards per game and have scored at least four rushing touchdowns this season.
Knight has been the headliner, piling up 789 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He has found the end zone on the ground in eight of UCLA’s nine games and scored at least once in every game in some form.
Illinois has had to spread the load in its own backfield because of injuries. Ca’Lil Valentine is out for the season after suffering a right leg injury Oct. 3 against Purdue, and Javari Barnett will also miss the rest of the year, Bielema said Monday.
That has put more on Aidan Laughery, who has rushed for 615 yards this season, and Jordan Anderson, who has turned in his three best games during Illinois’ current winning streak.
“Two of our better backs are down, but Aidan Laughery and Jordan have been super, super impressive,” Bielema said.
Illinois also got a lift last week from Katin Houser, the Anaheim native who is headed back to Southern California for this one. Houser missed the Oct. 24 win over Oregon, then returned for the past two games after freshman Michael Clayton II was injured. Against Nebraska, he threw three touchdown passes.
“One of the things we commonly share is that (UCLA) had a backup quarterback come in and do extremely well,” Bielema said, drawing a comparison between Dieffenbach and Clayton.
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For UCLA, the timing matters because the program is still navigating financial challenges and attendance concerns, even as it tries to stabilize on the field. Athletic director Tim Harris has been pushing to modernize revenue generation to support the program, and locking in Chesney would fit neatly with that broader effort to give the Bruins a steadier foundation moving forward. [Read more 🡒]