Anthony Woods and Wayne Knight carried for goal-line touchdowns and No. 12 UCLA bottled up Wisconsin to remain unbeaten with Saturday’s 17-7 victory in Pasadena, Calif.
The Bruins (6-0, 4-0 Big Ten Conference) scored on drives of 84, 91 and 89 yards, led by quarterback Ty Dieffenbach.
Dieffenbach, who finished UCLA’s Oct. 10 win at Oregon, made his first career start in place of the injured Nico Iamaleava. He completed 22-of-33 pass attempts for 264 yards, spreading the ball among eight pass-catchers.
Semaj Morgan’s five receptions for 84 yards led the Bruins.
Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1) forced UCLA into a pass-heavy offense, focusing on limiting a Bruins’ rushing attack that ranked sixth nationally coming into Saturday’s contest at 253.2 yards per game.
The Badgers held UCLA to just 120 yards on 37 carries, and keyed in on Knight aggressively to limit the Bruins standout through the first five games to only 23 yards.
Knight managed to record his 11th touchdown carry of the season, however, capping UCLA’s 91-yard drive in the second quarter. Dieffenbach set the table for Knight with a 21-yard completion to Jalen Saint-Paul that placed the Bruins at the goal line.
UCLA’s 10-point halftime advantage was trimmed to three in the third quarter when Colton Joseph got Wisconsin on the board with a three-yard touchdown run.
The 44-yard drive was set up when Marvin Burks Jr. intercepted Bruins receiver Morgan on an attempted trick play.
It took the Badgers 11 plays to get into the end zone, aided by a UCLA 15-yard personal foul penalty.
The Bruins held Wisconsin to only 214 yards of total offense, including 66 from Joseph on 6-of-16 passing. The Badgers had possession for less than 23 minutes and were held to just three conversions on 10 third-down opportunities.
With the win, UCLA ended the day as the Big Ten’s last remaining undefeated team thanks to Indiana’s 19-14 loss to Ohio State.
The 6-0 mark matches the best start for a Bruins team since 2022.