Sitting atop the Big Ten Conference and off to its best start in almost 30 years, No. 4 UCLA looks to stay undefeated on Friday when surging Illinois visits Pasadena, Calif.
The Bruins (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) recently moved one game shy of matching their 10-0 start in 1998 — their last conference championship season — with a 34-20 win at Minnesota on Saturday.
UCLA scored 17 fourth-quarter points to put the Golden Gophers away. The win marked a breakout for quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, who completed 8 of 16 passes for 303 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Dieffenbach earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for his best performance since replacing the injured Nico Iamaleava during UCLA’s Oct. 10 win at Oregon.
“I’m impressed with how quickly he can move on from things,” Bruins head coach Bob Chesney said of Dieffenbach. “What happened previously doesn’t affect his next. He’s very quick at getting to the next play.
“There’s a lot left, though,” Chesney added. “I think he understands that.”
Against Illinois (6-3, 4-2), Dieffenbach and the rest of the UCLA offense face a defense that has come on strong in recent weeks. The Illini have won four straight, including three consecutive games in which they held their opponents under 20 points.
Last Friday’s 24-13 defeat of Nebraska saw Illinois surrender 426 yards but few scoring opportunities. The Illini buckled down on a pair of first-half drives to force long field-goal attempts, both of which missed.
Illinois also stuffed the Cornhuskers on a pair of fourth-down conversion attempts in Illini territory.
Two-time All-Big Ten safety Matthew Bailey keyed Illinois against Nebraska with 11 tackles and a forced fumble. He leads Illinois with 66 tackles, four of them for loss.
With Bailey leading the way, the Illini run defense must contend with a multifaceted UCLA backfield that features running backs Wayne Knight, Anthony Woods and Jaivian Thomas. Each of the trio averages at least 30.7 yards per game and has scored at least four rushing touchdowns on the season.
Knight’s 789 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns set the pace. Knight has scored a rushing touchdown in eight of UCLA’s nine games and a touchdown of any kind in all nine.
The Illinois rushing offense has similarly distributed carries among a variety of backs, albeit out of necessity due to injuries.
Ca’Lil Valentine sustained a season-ending right leg injury on Oct. 3 against Purdue. Javari Barnett also will miss the rest of the season, Bielema said Monday.
However, Aidan Laughery has rushed for 615 yards this season, while Jordan Anderson has produced his three most productive games during the Illini’s current four-game winning streak.
“Two of our better backs are down, but Aidan Laughery and Jordan have been super, super impressive,” Bielema said.
Illinois also got an impressive showing last week from Katin Houser, an Anaheim native who will return to Southern California on Friday.
Houser missed Illinois’ Oct. 24 win over Oregon but returned behind center for the past two games after freshman Michael Clayton II was injured. Houser delivered with three touchdown passes against Nebraska.
“One of the things we commonly share is that (UCLA) had a backup quarterback come in and do extremely well,” Bielema said, comparing Dieffenbach and Clayton.