No. 9 UCLA Beats Michigan State 28-10, Starts 7-0 for First Time Since 2005

For about 10 minutes of game clock at the Rose Bowl, Michigan State had the script it wanted. Then No. 9 UCLA remembered who it was.

The Bruins shook off a sloppy start, dominated the middle two quarters and beat the Spartans 28-10 on Saturday afternoon in Pasadena. UCLA is 7-0 for the first time since 2005 and 5-0 in the Big Ten. It is the last unbeaten team in the conference, CBS Sports noted. Michigan State dropped to 2-6 and 0-5 in league play.

The Spartans strike first

Michigan State came in banged up at quarterback and had to start true freshman Kayd Coffman. According to Michigan State Athletics, he is the first true freshman to start at QB for the Spartans since Jeff Smoker in 2000. CBS Sports reported that the Spartans were down to their third-string quarterback because of injuries to Alessio Milivojevic and Cam Fancher.

The defense gave Coffman a gift early. With UCLA driving on its first series, safety Devin Vaught stripped Anthony Woods and returned the fumble 56 yards to the UCLA 15. Two plays later, Coffman found Kenneth Williams for a 14-yard touchdown. Michigan State led 7-0 with 5:26 left in the first quarter, and UCLA was trailing for the first time since its 17-15 win at Oregon two weeks earlier, according to The Associated Press.

UCLA steadies itself

The Bruins answered with a takeaway of their own. A fumble recovery to start the second quarter put UCLA on the Michigan State 19, and five plays later Jaivian Thomas ran it in from 7 yards to tie the game at 7.

Then came a wild stretch. On third-and-7 from the MSU 34, Spartans safety Nikai Martinez scooped a fumble and ran it 56 yards to the UCLA 19. Two plays later, Coffman threw an interception that Donavyn Pellot returned 67 yards to the Michigan State 21. Six plays after that, Wayne Knight scored from a yard out, and UCLA led 14-7 with 3:04 left in the half.

Michigan State's defense created two turnovers that both went 56 yards. The offense turned the first into seven points and gave the second right back.

The haymaker out of halftime

UCLA got the ball to start the third quarter and needed only four plays. Ty Dieffenbach hit Brian Rowe Jr. for a 63-yard touchdown, and it was 21-7. Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald pointed to that play afterward.

"As the game went along we gave up too many big plays, turned the ball over at an inopportune time, and then gave up the big explosive touchdown to start the second half," Fitzgerald said, according to the AP.

The Bruins followed that with a grinding 10-play, 70-yard drive that Woods finished with a 4-yard run. It was 28-7 with 5:27 left in the third, and the rest of the afternoon was mostly about running out the clock.

The AP reported that UCLA outgained Michigan State 280-13 in the second and third quarters. That is not a typo. For two full quarters, the Spartans' offense basically did not exist.

The numbers that matter

UCLA finished with 443 total yards to Michigan State's 156. Dieffenbach threw for 198 yards and the long touchdown, and Rowe led the Bruins with 74 receiving yards. Woods put the early fumble behind him and ran for 112 yards and a score.

On the other side, Coffman went 4-of-10 for 42 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Leo Hannan, a second-year quarterback from Long Beach, took over in the fourth quarter and went 9-of-15 for 67 yards. The AP reported that Malik Hartford intercepted him late. Williams was the Spartans' best weapon, with a season-high 54 rushing yards on 17 carries plus three catches for 12 yards, good for 81 all-purpose yards. Chrishon McCray caught three passes for a team-best 42 yards.

Martinez and Vaught each made eight tackles to go with their long fumble returns. Liam Boyd's 46-yard field goal with 6:18 left, which capped a 15-play, 69-yard drive, made it 28-10.

Chesney is not satisfied

The most interesting quote of the day came from the winning coach. UCLA's Bob Chesney was clearly not thrilled with the start.

"It was sloppy," Chesney said, according to the AP. "Two fumbles, two drops, two holding penalties. That's ultimately what happened out there. You can't do it if you want to win really close games. We're taking three, four touchdowns off the board by doing that."

That is what a coach of a 7-0 team should sound like. UCLA won by 18 and still left points on the field, and Chesney knows the November version of this schedule will not let the Bruins get away with that.

What it means

For UCLA, the win keeps the College Football Playoff conversation alive and keeps the Bruins alone at the top of the Big Ten. Next up is a home non-conference game against Nevada, which looks like a good chance to clean up the details Chesney was complaining about.

For Michigan State, it is hard to take much from a game played with a third-string quarterback against a top-10 team. The defense competed and forced two turnovers. The offense managed 156 yards. The Spartans are now 0-3 against ranked teams this season, the AP noted, and they finally get a bye before visiting Michigan on Nov. 7.

Sometimes a game is decided by one play. This one was decided by two quarters, and UCLA owned both of them.

Sources: Michigan State Athletics recap and official box score, The Associated Press, ESPN and CBS Sports.

Cover photo: Steven Kwang/Undrafted, Rose Bowl, Pasadena.