The Bob Chesney Era is off and running for the UCLA Bruins. The Bruins outlasted the Cal Bears Saturday night, picking up a 45-24 victory to move to 1-0 on the 2026 season.
It was a hard-fought win to begin Chesney's tenure, as Cal and quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele battled late into Saturday night but UCLA's defense got three turnovers and three sacks in the win.
The UCLA offense shined too. Aside from a red zone interception by Nico Iamaleava, Dean Kennedy's offense shined. UCLA rushed for 279 yards with James Madison transfer Wayne Knight looking like a star, and finding the end zone three times in his UCLA debut.
It was a balanced rushing attack, with the Bruins' offensive line winning up front, creating holes on the ground for Knight, Anthony Woods, Jaivian Thomas and Iamaleava on the ground. While Knight found the end zone three times, Woods scored twice and totaled 118 yards on only eight carries. As a team, UCLA averaged 9.0 yards per carry.
UCLA left meat on the bone late in the first half, as an Iamaleava interception led to a Cal touchdown but that didn't instill fear in the offense, as Iamaleava found Matthews for a deep pass to set up a last-second field goal to give the Bruins a 24-17 halftime lead.
#ucla #three #zone #woods
It was a hard-fought win to begin Chesney's tenure, as Cal and quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele battled late into Saturday night but UCLA's defense got three turnovers and three sacks in the win.
The UCLA offense shined too. Aside from a red zone interception by Nico Iamaleava, Dean Kennedy's offense shined. UCLA rushed for 279 yards with James Madison transfer Wayne Knight looking like a star, and finding the end zone three times in his UCLA debut.
It was a balanced rushing attack, with the Bruins' offensive line winning up front, creating holes on the ground for Knight, Anthony Woods, Jaivian Thomas and Iamaleava on the ground. While Knight found the end zone three times, Woods scored twice and totaled 118 yards on only eight carries. As a team, UCLA averaged 9.0 yards per carry.
UCLA left meat on the bone late in the first half, as an Iamaleava interception led to a Cal touchdown but that didn't instill fear in the offense, as Iamaleava found Matthews for a deep pass to set up a last-second field goal to give the Bruins a 24-17 halftime lead.
#ucla #three #zone #woods
6 days ago
