The #9 UCLA Bruins will host the 2-5 Michigan State Spartans tomorrow at the Rose Bowl. The game will be broadcast on CBS with Brad Nessler, Charles Davis and Jenny Dell and the game will kickoff at 12:30 pm PT.
Tomorrow’s game is just the eighth time that the Bruins have played the Spartans. Before last season’s matchup in East Lansing, the teams hadn’t met since UCLA swept a home-and-home series back in 1973 and 1974.
It seems fitting that UCLA will be wearing their Beban-era throwbacks for the game tomorrow as this game will be the first time the teams have met in the Rose Bowl since 1966. The only thing that could make it any cooler would be if the Spartans were to wear 60s throwbacks too.
Coming in to that Rose Bowl Game, the Bruins were ranked fifth in the nation while the Spartans were the #1 team in the country, but Gary Beban rushed for two touchdowns to lead UCLA to a 14-12 win. As a result, the 8-2-1 UCLA team finished the season fourth in the AP Top 25 poll behind Alabama, Michigan State and Arkansas, which seems pretty good considering the Bruins opened the season with a 13-3 loss to the Spartans in East Lansing, but what do I know? I wasn’t alive to see either game.
Odds
Last week’s win over Wisconsin moved my record against the spread to 5-0-1 for the season. Of course, I dropped another Over call last week, making me 1-5 on the Over/Under this season.
This week, UCLA opened as a 13.5-point favorite. Since then, the action has increased the spread to 14.5 points. Before I previewed the Michigan State offense as well as their defense, I probably would have said that this is a lot of points to give when you consider that the Spartans have lost their last two games by a total of just four points, but after writing this week’s preview, I just don’t see how the Bruins don’t win this game by at least 17 points. The bottom line is simple: Spartan offensive playcalling has been highly suspect and the number of injuries which could keep key personnel from playing makes this an easy decision. Take the Bruins and give the points again!
The Over/Under for this game started at 47.5 points and I’m thinking the MSU availability report is a significant contributing factor going into the lowering of the Over/Under down to 43.5 points. If I were actually putting money on this, I’d probably take what I was going to put toward the O/U and increase my wager on the point spread, but since I’m not, I have to make a call here. While I think UCLA will win, and win big, I have very little confidence that the Spartans are going to score more than a field goal if they score that much. So, 43.5 points seems like a tough hurdle to climb here.
I’m taking the Under, but won’t be overly surprised if UCLA scores close to that number on their own or even covers it by themselves.
Tailgating and Game Time Weather Forecast
It’s going to be a Chamber of Commerce Day tomorrow in Pasadena.
The day will start off a little on the cool side with it clear and about 57° when the parking lots open at 6:30 am PT for tailgating. Of course, that’s before the sun rises at 7:05 am. As you’d expect, the temperature will warm up as we get closer to kickoff. By 9 am, it should be in the low 60s and, by 11 am, it should be close to upper 60s, possibly breaking into the 70s.
Meanwhile, it will continue to slowly warm up to about 72° in time for kickoff at 12:30 pm. By halftime, it should be in the mid-70s and it will reach a high for the day of 75° by the start of the fourth quarter and it should stay close to that through the end of the game.
Let’s take a look at how to watch, listen and stream tomorrow’s game.
#9 UCLA Football (6-0, 4-0)
Opponent: Michigan State Spartans (2-5, 0-4)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 4-3
When: 12:30 pm PT, Saturday, October 24, 2026
Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Live TV: CBS with Brad Nessler, Charles Davis, and Jenny Dell
Live Stream: CBSSports.com and the Paramount+ app
Radio/Audio:
KABC-AM 790 in Los Angeles with Josh Lewin, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 85 (UCLA Call)Online: UCLABruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Michigan StateRebroadcast (All times PT):
Sunday, 10/25 at 5:00 pm on BTN (B1G Football in 60)Sunday, 10/25 at 11:00 pm on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Monday, 10/26 at 3:00 am on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Tuesday, 10/27 at 12:00 am on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Wednesday, 10/28 at 2:00 am on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Wednesday, 10/28 at 11:00 am on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Go Bruins!!!
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