UCLA surges late to open Bob Chesney period with win over Cal

BERKELEY — Wayne Knight didn’t have any Power Four convention gives when he graduated from highschool in Delaware. On Saturday, enjoying for a UCLA program with excessive expectations, he ran for 3 touchdowns.

During the primary recreation of the Bob Chesney period, UCLA’s run recreation seemed dominant throughout a 45-24 street win over Cal. Knight, one among 10 gamers who joined Chesney shifting from James Madison to Westwood, was the chief of a bunch that ran for six touchdowns.

“You always want to get on the big stage and show everyone that you can do it,” Knight mentioned within the cramped visiting press room of California Memorial Stadium, barely rising above the noise of the locker room celebration exterior. “Right now, it’s very fulfilling, but we got a lot more to do.”

The night time was practically soured by a quick damage scare to quarterback Nico Iamaleava, however by then the Bruins had successfully gained the sport by dominating in two areas by which they carried out poorly a season in the past — speeding and protection.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava scores a speeding landing within the first half towards California. Iamaleava handed for 184 yards and rushed for 29.

(Godofredo A. Vasquez / For The Times)

UCLA outscored Cal 21-0 within the fourth quarter off two interceptions from switch security Ta’Shawn James, who obtained his first decide when Cal sophomore Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s third-down go was tipped by his receiver. Knight ran for a 31-yard landing on the subsequent play to assist in giving UCLA a 31-24 lead with 8:46 left to go.

On the subsequent Cal drive, Sagapolutele miscommunicated with a receiver he anticipated to chop and as a substitute lofted a ball straight to James, who gathered it for the Bruins with 7:31 left within the fourth quarter. Soon after, Knight delivered his third landing on a four-yard run.

“It was like a movie,” mentioned James, who earned the primary interception of his profession in the course of the win over Cal.

Anthony Woods broke free for a 53-yard landing run on the Bruins’ ultimate possession for his second landing of the sport and UCLA’s sixth — all on the bottom. Last season, the Bruins ran for eight.

UCLA operating again Wayne Knight carries the ball throughout a win over Cal on Saturday night time.

(Godofredo A. Vasquez / For The Times)

Along along with his three scores, Knight ran for 71 yards on eight carries throughout his UCLA debut. Iamaleava accomplished 14 of twenty-two passes for 184 yards, with an interception. He rushed for 29 yards and scored a landing. Woods completed with 118 speeding yards on eight carries.

“We got a lot of guys in there that can make plays,” Knight mentioned. “It’s never going to drop off with any of us. That’s gonna be a huge testament for a lot games that we win this season.”

Since the demise of the Pac-12 in 2023, the Golden Bears (0-1) and Bruins (1-0) hadn’t met. Saturday nonetheless had all the emotions related to Pac-12 After Dark chaos.

Iamaleava left the sport with 4:49 left within the fourth quarter after a 10-yard rush left him unable to face for a couple of minutes, limping right into a sideline medical tent with an obvious left leg damage. His youthful brother, Madden, took over handing the ball off to finish the UCLA scoring drive. Nico Iamaleava reentered the sport for UCLA’s ultimate possession.

Chesney mentioned Iamaleava was coping with a cleat hitting his calf earlier than it cramped up.

“We’ve seen our potential out there with this first game and it’s on us to go out there and put in the work,” Iamaleava mentioned.

UCLA coach Bob Chesney speaks along with his gamers throughout pregame stretches on Saturday.

(Godofredo A. Vasquez / For The Times)

Before Iamaleava took that hit, Chesney had already tailored to the lack of beginning receiver Landon Ellis, who went down early within the third quarter. With the Golden Bears making use of stress, the Bruins began to depend on the bottom recreation.

“It’s amazing,” Knight mentioned. “We got a lot of guys that can go and keep fresh legs. So any given chance in the moment, it’s your time to shine.”

It appeared each groups may mild up the scoreboard early.

Cal started with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive, with UCLA promptly responding with a seven-play, 71-yard possession capped with a nine-yard landing run by Iamaleava.

The defenses then turned up stress and compelled a sequence of punts.

In the second quarter, Woods bounced off of visitors and across the edge for a 31-yard sprint into the tip zone to offer the Bruins a 14-10 lead with 10:19 left.

Derrick Barksdale, one of many James Madison transfers, sacked Sagapolutele within the second quarter to finish a drive earlier than it started, setting the stage for one more UCLA landing on Knight’s eight-yard run on third down.

But then, Cal pressured a momentum shift.

Iamaleava threw a red-zone interception with 51 seconds left within the second quarter. The Golden Bears responded with an 87-yard scoring drive spanning 38 seconds to chop the Bruins’ result in 21-17. Mateen Bhaghani kicked a 38-yard subject purpose within the ultimate seconds to offer UCLA a 24-17 halftime benefit.

Cal took its opening possession of the third quarter 85 yards in a 14-play drive that tied the rating 24-24. But the Golden Bears wouldn’t discover the tip zone once more, as UCLA’s protection pressured turnovers and its offense hit its stride within the fourth quarter.

“Honestly, it was good for our first game to play versus some very talented receivers, and it’s going to set the tone for us and for down the road,” James mentioned. “Shout out to those guys. They went out there and played hard, made plays. But we went out there and made plays, too. So, honestly, I don’t see us stopping.”

The Bruins had the worst protection within the Big Ten a season in the past, permitting 33.4 factors per recreation, and have been final within the nation in sacks (10). They additionally had the Thirteenth-ranked speeding offense within the convention.

Almost all the pieces Saturday was a drastic enchancment from final 12 months’s 3-9 season.

“We all came together with a lot of transfers and Coach Ches and we trust him,” mentioned receiver Mikey Matthews (4 catches, 88 yards), who transferred to UCLA from Cal. “He’s leading us and we trust him with all of our hearts. So we just play for him and play extra hard.”

Both packages got here into the sport with greater expectations for this season. Like UCLA, Cal has a transfer-loaded roster and a brand new head coach, Tosh Lupoi. Led by Sagapolutele, the Bears have excessive hopes of revitalizing a program that hasn’t gained 9 video games in a season since 2008.

But within the first recreation of a brand new period for the cross-state rivals, UCLA was forward of the curve.

“It was a lot of fun,” Chesney mentioned with a smile. “That was a battle.”