UCLA backs up wild Penn State upset with a dominant win over Michigan State

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters

UCLA is … back?

The Bruins, one week removed from their stunning upset over then-No. 7 Penn State, rolled to a dominant 38-13 win over Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing. It marked the program’s first back-to-back wins in nearly a full year, and came on the heels of a brutal start that saw head coach DeShaun Foster fired just three games into the season.

The Bruins didn’t start out as strong this time, but they still rallied to a 24-7 lead at the break on Saturday. They turned a fourth-down stand into a 16-yard touchdown run from Jalen Berger just three plays later in the first quarter, and then Nico Iamaleava marched the team down 63 yards before capping the 10-play drive with a 3-yard toss to Berger again for a second score. That made him the first Bruins player with a receiving and a rushing score in the same half in three years.

Iamaleava backed that up with a 12-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Titus Mokiao-Atimalala in the end zone on their next drive, too, which put the Bruins up by 23 points before halftime.

Though they scored a touchdown on their opening drive, Michigan State’s offense completely shut down after that. The Spartans completed just a single first down the rest of the way, but they fumbled the ball away immediately after doing so when Devin Aupiu drilled Aidan Chiles in the backfield. That set up the Mokiao-Atimalata touchdown a few plays later.

Things didn't slow down in the second half, either. UCLA scored on its first two possessions, first with a 1-yard run from Jaivian Thomas and then on a 13-yard pass to Berger. That touchdown, Berger's third of the day, marked 38 unanswered points by the Bruins. 

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Iamaleava finished throwing 16-of-24 for 180 yards with three touchdowns in the win for UCLA. Berger had 89 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Chiles left the game in the second half with an apparent head injury, and was replaced by Alessio Milivojevic. Makhi Frazier led the Spartans with 58 yards on the ground, and Nick Marsh had 77 yards and a touchdown on seven catches.

Michigan State now holds a 3-3 record heading into next week's matchup at No. 7 Indiana.

UCLA didn’t just sneak out a win over Penn State last weekend. The Bruins largely dominated in Pasadena. They racked up 280 yards on the ground and carried a 27-7 lead into the locker room at halftime before holding on for the win late. It marked the first time since 1985 that a top-10 team lost to an 0-4 team or worse, and it snapped Penn State’s 34-game win streak over unranked opponents. The Nittany Lions entered the contest favored by 24.5 points at BetMGM, but they fell out of the rankings completely after the loss.

While the upset win was one thing, it’s what it came after that made it truly shocking. The Bruins also let go of defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe shortly after splitting with Foster, and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri left mutually. The team looked completely spent. They entered last week’s game not having led in a single contest while picking up bad losses to UNLV, New Mexico and Northwestern. They were the second-worst team in the Power Four, per the Sagarin ratings, better than only Oklahoma State.

While the program still has a lot to figure out long-term, things are finally working for the Bruins. That's not something many thought was even possible just a few weeks ago.