EAST LANSING, Mich. — The sheet of paper greeted every UCLA player as he stepped into his row and took his seat on the team plane.
On it, in large block letters, was printed six words and a challenge from their interim coach: “ARE YOU A ONE-HIT WONDER?”
A week after upsetting Penn State, the Bruins answered emphatically.
Hell, no!
These guys had another triumph in them. A big one.
In an encore that was every bit the success of its smash debut under a makeshift coaching staff, UCLA continued its stunning transformation from winless team to … Big Ten powerhouse? College Football Playoff contender? Sports comeback story of the year?
There seems no limit to what this team might be able to accomplish given the continued rise on display Saturday during a 38-13 victory over Michigan State at Spartan Stadium.
UCLA running back Jalen Berger celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against Michigan State.
(Raj Mehta / Getty Images)
UCLA’s offense, led by playcaller Jerry Neuheisel, rolled off 38 consecutive points after the Bruins (2-4 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) spotted the Spartans (3-3, 0-3) an early touchdown.
The Bruins’ defense, run by de facto defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle, forced a fumble, stopped the Spartans on all four fourth-down attempts and held them to 253 yards of offense. Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles was knocked out of the game early in the third quarter after spinning into a vicious hit from defensive tackle Keanu Williams.
Orchestrating it all was interim coach Tim Skipper, who has his team playing with a focus and vitality that were clearly missing under DeShaun Foster. The sheet of paper left on players’ seats was just one of the motivational messages he’s used to revive a once lifeless team.
“It was just a little reminder, that’s all it really was,” Skipper said. “It’s kind of like Santa Claus — you don’t know how the presents got there, but they got there.”
Skipper could now be considered a more attractive candidate for UCLA’s coaching vacancy than Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith, the Pasadena native whose name has appeared on many preliminary lists for the job. How is this the same team that started the season 0-4?
“In my mind,” Skipper said, “I’ve kind of blocked out everything until I’ve been sitting in this seat and I just see us getting better every single day, that’s my whole entire goal, just get better every single day, and that’s all I’m really worried about.”
Things were going so well for the Bruins that UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond came over to where a Times reporter was sitting in the press box late in the third quarter to discuss the changes he had made in the coaching staff that helped spark the team’s turnaround.
There’s no debating that this is a different team than the one that couldn’t win a game under Foster. UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava said players had rediscovered their joy.
“I think just getting back to childhood memories and when we used to play this, when we was younger, and just going out there and having fun with it,” Iamaleava said after passing for 180 yards and three touchdowns. “We were uptight the first four games, and I feel like we went out there and let our hair flow and we were playing for fun.”
Once struggling to reach double digits in points, UCLA’s offense is now humming. A new star emerged Saturday when running back Jalen Berger scored three touchdowns and ran for a season-high 89 yards against his former team, one score coming on a run and the other two on catches.
On a rare day in which he did not need to spark UCLA’s offense with his legs because his team rolled up 238 rushing yards, Iamaleava was nearly flawless with his arm. He completed 16 of 24 passes without an interception while running just six times for three yards.
The Bruins’ 24-7 halftime lead meant they had scored more points in a game and a half with Neuheisel calling plays (66) than they did in their previous four games combined (57).
“The plays coach Jerry has been putting us in have been great, just putting us in great positions to go out there and be successful,” Iamaleava said. “And then everything’s clicking right now. O-line is doing a great job getting our run game open. And then the receivers are doing a great job getting open on the field.”
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava celebrates with wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer during the first half Saturday against Michigan State.
(Raj Mehta / Getty Images)
Their attacking, disciplined defense forced another turnover and stifled Michigan State after allowing the Spartans to score a touchdown on their opening drive.
UCLA’s special teams chipped in as well, in a scene that seemed familiar to those who had watched the Bruins play Northwestern but somehow caught Michigan State by surprise. With the Bruins lined up to punt early in the second quarter, Cole Martin took the snap and ran for 20 yards and a first down. The play was nearly identical to his fake punt against the Wildcats two weeks earlier.
“Very similar,” Skipper said, “but it went the opposite way — same formation, different direction.”
UCLA converted the trickery into points after Iamaleava connected with Berger for a three-yard touchdown catch.
After Bruins edge rusher Devin Aupiu forced a fumble from Chiles that defensive tackle Siale Taupaki recovered, the Bruins got the ball back at the Spartans’ 32-yard line. Iamaleava later found wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala cutting across the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown that extended UCLA’s lead to 24-7.
Every bounce went the Bruins’ way except for a Mateen Bhaghani field-goal attempt that ricocheted off the left upright late in the second quarter.
UCLA’s 24 consecutive points made its halftime advantage seem far greater, prompting Michigan State fans to serenade their team with boos heading into the locker room on what was shaping up as a not-so-festive homecoming.
“Best part really is just the togetherness we have in the locker room,” Martin said. “We came together. We’ve never altered. We’ve always stayed together. Nobody’s quit on one another. And that was really the best part for me, just knowing that whatever we go through, we’re going to have each other at the end of the day.”
A week after they shocked the college football world, the big story was the Bruins. Once more.
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