UCLA’s first season under Bob Chesney got better again this afternoon as the Bruins went to Minneapolis to play the Minnesota Golden Gophers in what some viewed as a possible trap game for the team.
Like so many of the Bruins’ other games this year, UCLA found a new way to win. Today’s game was won by the arm of starting quarterback Ty Dieffenbach who completed 8 of 16 pass attempts for 303 yards and three touchdowns.
While the Bruins never trailed in the game, there were certainly times when the outcome wasn’t clear.
UCLA came out of the gate strong. The Bruins got the ball first after the Gophers won the toss and chose to defer their choice to the second half. UCLA started their first drive on their own 25 and moved 56 yards on seven plays down to Minnesota’s 19-yard line where they had to settle for a 37-yard field goal by Mateen Bhaghani.
The third play of the drive foreshadowed what was to come when Dieffenbach found Semaj Morgan for a 54-yard gain.
After a punt by the Gophers, the Bruins took over on their own 38. Dieffenbach showed he can run with a big 18-yard gain on the first play of the drive, and he followed that with a pass to Wayne Knight which gained 28 yards to set UCLA up with the ball on Minnesota’s 16-yard line. Five plays later, Knight ran around the corner past a Gopher linebacker for a touchdown. That put the Bruins up 10-0 and that was the score when the first quarter ended.
As the game moved into the second quarter, Minnesota was able to put together an 11-play, 61-yard drive and Darius Taylor closed the gap with a 3-yard touchdown run which made it 10-7, Bruins.
With less than a minute to go in the half, the Gophers took over on the Bruin 44-yard line. That field position already put Minnesota in field goal range because Luke Drzewiecki’s longest field goal of the season was a 60-yarder, even though he missed a 56-yard attempt in the first quarter for his first miss of the year.
The Gophers were able to move the ball to the Bruin 20 with just three second left. Drzewiecki nailed a 38-yarder to tie the game 10-10 at the half.
Anyone who has watched UCLA this season knows that the Bruins have finished every game strong in the second half.
Minnesota got the ball to start the second half and they drove to the UCLA 37. On third-and-three, Darold Denghoe stopped Xavier Ford for a yard loss to force another 56-yard field goal attempt by Drzewiecki. He missed this one to and the Bruins took over on their own 38.
On first down, Knight scampered to the right for a 31-yard run, and after another run by Knight and one by Anthony Woods, Dieffenbach found Noah Fox-Flores for a 27-yard touchdown pass, giving UCLA a 17-10 lead and that was the score at the end of the third quarter.
When the fourth quarter began, the Gophers had the ball in Bruin territory and they scored on the fifth play of the quarter to tie the game back up, 17-17.
After a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy reached into his playbook and pulled out a 75-yard touchdown pass from Dieffenbach to Aidan Mizell on the first play of the drive to put UCLA ahead 24-17.
With 12:36 left in the game The Gophers moved 66 yards on 10 plays over about five minutes, but their drive stalled and PJ Fleck turned to Drzewiecki again and he connected for a 36-yard field goal.
When the Bruins got the ball back on their own 25, Dieffenbach found Mizell on a deep crossing route for another 75-yard touchdown pass, giving UCLA a 31-20 lead.
With the game almost out of reach, Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey was forced to go to the air, and of course, the Bruin secondary responded with an interception by Scooter Jackson which led to a 36-yard field goal by Bhaghani. That increased UCLA’s lead to 34-20 and proved to be the final score.
In addition to Dieffenbach’s big performance, Knight finished the game with 18 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown. Mizell’s two receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns led the Bruin receivers.
The 9-0 Bruins return home this coming Friday for a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini. Kickoff is set for 6 pm PT and the game will be broadcast on Fox. A win on Friday will match 1998 for UCLA’s best start ever and it would be tenth time UCLA has won ten games in a season. No Bruin team has ever won more than ten games in a season. Come out to the Rose Bowl Friday and watch this team make history!
Go Bruins!!!
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I'll start out by not writing flippantly but say that, while the Golden Gophers were tough, the game highlight films -- which tend to edit out the blemishes -- look terrifying for the Illini and Michigan. (I think the Toe Jams are too dumb to know the difference.) And, if they look scary to those folks I wonder what the CFP committee members think?
Who are you all rooting in the ND v. Miami game later today? Honestly, it's one of those games that I wish the good Lord would just open up a yawning crevasse and have al of the ND and Hurricane faithful fall into!
That said, Chesney is 25% away from running the table and, in my heart-of-hearts, I hope he does!
But we're 9-0 so let's savor the moment and start the Fighting Illini hand wringing on Monday, shall we?
Excellent article, Jim!
If UCLA and USC win out before they play each other, UCLA could lose that game and still have the best record in the Big 10 and would likely play USC again in the Big 10 Championship game.