UCLA Bruins at Michigan State Spartans Game Thread
Can the Bruins win two weeks in a row when they visit the Spartans this morning?
Welcome to Breakfast with the Bruins! Everything I’m seeing seems to be pointing at this game being a shootout. Assuming that’s the case, this morning’s game could come down to being the last team to score. That means having the ball at the right time to do it while leaving too little time for the opponent to score. Sounds easy, right? Much easier said than done.
Last week, Penn State had the ball on the UCLA nine-yard line on fourth-and-two, but they couldn’t run the ball for the first down. If they had thrown it instead, they may have tied the game and forced overtime.
The Bruins need to improve on defense in order to avoid finding themselves in a situation where it’s possible they can lose if the opponent scores in that situation.
Let’s look at the keys to doing that today.
Keys to the Game
1. Score Touchdowns
Last week, with Jerry Neuheisel calling the offensive plays, the Bruins proved they can score touchdowns. That’s good because they are going to need to do it again today.
Michigan State has made the most of their Red Zone opportunities, scoring 16 touchdowns out of 21 Red Zone opportunities. The Bruins, however, have only had 14 Red Zone opportunities all season, but six of them came last week and five of UCLA’s eight Red Zone touchdowns came last week. The Bruins will need to get the ball into the end zone today against Michigan State’s suspect pass defense.
2. Get the Defense Off the Field
Make no mistake. Last week’s win was fantastic, but lost amid the elation of beating the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions was the fact that UCLA almost allowed Penn State to win the game late in the second half. The Bruin defense needs to stop the Michigan State offense and get off the field. If they don’t, the Spartans are going to move down the field and put the ball into the end zone which will make it tough to win today’s game.
3. Contain Aidan Chiles
Last week, Drew Allar was Penn State’s leading rusher with 78 net yards on 11 carries even though Allar wasn’t known for running the ball a whole lot. By comparison, Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles is the second-best rusher on Michigan State. For that reason, the Bruin defense will need to find a way to keep Chiles in the pocket and prevent him from beating them with his feet.
Listen to the Game With TMB!
Today’s game is on BTN with Mark Followill, Yogi Roth and Rhett Lewis calling the game. If you would rather listen Josh Lewin and Matt Stevens call today’s game, you can listen to the game online while chatting in the TMB game thread. Just right click on the link and open it in another tab so you can have it playing while you chat in the comments below. That way, you can listen to Josh Lewin, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook call today’s game.
Join your fellow Bruins discussing today’s game in the comments section below, but before you get there, here’s how to watch today’s game:
UCLA Football (1-4, 1-1)
Opponent: Michigan State Spartans (3-2, 0-2)
Series Record: Tied 3-3
When: 9:00 am PT, Saturday, October 11, 2025
Where: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
Live TV: BTN with Mark Followill, Yogi Roth and Rhett Lewis
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports and FoxOne apps
Radio/Audio:
KABC-AM 790 in Los Angeles with Josh Lewin, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 85 (MSU Call) and XM Ch. 372 (UCLA Call)Online: UCLABruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Michigan StateRebroadcast (All times PT):
Monday, 10/13 at 3:00 pm on BTN (B1G Football in 60)Tuesday, 10/14 at 2:00 am on BTN (B1G Football in 60)
Go Bruins!!!
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Our Ford is having problems innMichigan
See foot, shoot. :<(