Ninth-ranked UCLA can extend the Big Ten’s last unblemished record when the Bruins face Michigan State on Saturday afternoon in Pasadena, Calif.
UCLA (6-0, 4-0) matched its best start since 2022 with a 17-7 win over Wisconsin last Saturday. Coupled with Indiana’s 19-15 loss to Ohio State, the Bruins closed the week as one of only six undefeated FBS teams.
“It can go one of two ways,” UCLA coach Bob Chesney said of the team’s strong start and new top-10 ranking. “One is that, hey, we’re trying to prove something, and that’s motivation enough. Or you can look at it and feel like now you’ve arrived. If our standard is right, this is just more motivation.”
The Bruins can move closer to their best start since 2005 — when they opened 8-0 — with a win over a Michigan State team riding a much different trajectory.
The Spartans (2-5, 0-4) are on a five-game losing streak, falling most recently to then-No. 25 Northwestern last Saturday 24-21.
Michigan State’s past two losses have come by a combined four points, with Illinois stuffing a would-be, game-winning two-point conversion attempt in overtime of a 38-37 decision on Oct. 10.
“Right back to work to find a way to squeeze out those last couple plays. That’s where we are these last two games,” Spartans coach Pat Fitzgerald said in his Monday press conference.
Michigan State seeks more production from its rushing offense, which is tied for 118th in the FBS at 119.1 yards per game. Finishing last week with 89 yards marked the third time this season the Spartans failed to reach the century mark on the ground.
UCLA has experienced its own struggles with the rush in the last two weeks, coinciding with the loss of dual-threat quarterback Nico Iamaleava to a knee injury. Chesney said Monday that Iamaleava likely will need surgery, leaving Ty Dieffenbach as the probable leader of the Bruins’ offense going forward.
Dieffenbach stepped in after Iamaleava’s exit from a 17-15 win Oct. 10 at then-No. 13 Oregon and threw a second-half touchdown to running back Wayne Knight. Dieffenbach attempted just six passes against the Ducks, completing three, but saw a considerably heavier workload against Wisconsin.
He went 22-for-33 for 264 yards as the Badgers looked to key in on the UCLA rushing attack. After running for 140 yards on 47 carries at Oregon, the Bruins rushed for 120 yards on 37 tries against Wisconsin.
The Badgers limited Knight to 23 yards on 13 carries, but he continued his streak of scoring at least one touchdown in every game in 2026, giving him 11 TDs heading into Saturday’s game.
Michigan State, which has held opponents to just under 4 yards per carry this season, will look to limit Knight, but Fitzgerald said he expects multiple challenges from UCLA’s offense.
“He’s got really good contact strength; he runs through tackles,” Fitzgerald said of Knight. “And then he’s got the speed to take it the distance.”