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11/07 17:10 CST No. 5 UCLA turns up the speed late to stay unbeaten with 34-20
win at Minnesota
No. 5 UCLA turns up the speed late to stay unbeaten with 34-20 win at Minnesota
By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) --- The UCLA Bruins traveled to Minnesota as one of the last
three undefeated teams in the FBS, followed by some strength-of-schedule
skepticism that had them fifth in the AP poll and just eighth in the first
edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.
Coach Bob Chesney has them unbeaten --- and unbothered.
Ty Dieffenbach threw two 75-yard touchdown passes to Aidan Mizell in the fourth
quarter as the Bruins sped away from the Gophers 34-20 on Saturday.
"I told our guys, ?Don't worry about watching this four-week drama series
that's going to be this new show that they're going to put out there,'" Chesney
said. "That's not what we're here for."
Not even a little extra motivation?
"No way slighted. No way honored. Just totally neutral on whatever they might
say," Chesney said. "We've got to win our football games, and we did that
today."
Wayne Knight rushed for 109 yards and his 15th score of the season to help keep
the Bruins (9-0, 6-0) atop the Big Ten with a big boost for their playoff bid.
Dieffenbach, who took over a month ago for the injured Nico Iamaleava, had a
career-high 303 yards on just eight completions to overcome two turnovers He
found Mizell, a transfer from Florida, streaking through the secondary on
consecutive one-play possessions to pull away from the Gophers (5-4, 3-3).
The Bruins have been the breakout story in major college football under
Chesney, who took James Madison to the CFP last season and has tied the largest
one-year turnaround in program history after a 3-9 mark in 2025.
Drake Lindsey passed for 205 yards and a touchdown to freshman tight end George
Rohl that tied the game at 17 late in the third quarter, but 47-plus minutes of
solid defense was undone in seconds by two crushing coverage breakdowns on the
track-speedy Mizell.
"Two plays, 150 yards: That's the story of the game," Minnesota coach P.J.
Fleck said.
The combination of kicker Luke Drzewiecki's recent success and an offense
producing the second-fewest yards in the conference and three touchdowns in the
past three games prompted Fleck to call twice for 56-yard field-goal attempts
that became two of the most pivotal plays of the game.
On fourth-and-2 in the first quarter, the wide-right try stopped Drzewiecki's
FBS-best streak of 26 straight made field goals. Dieffenbach took a read-option
run for 18 yards and hit Knight with a swing pass for 28 yards on the next two
plays to jump-start UCLA's first touchdown drive.
Then on fourth-and-4 in the third quarter, Drzewiecki went wide right again,
and Knight raced 31 yards around the right edge on the subsequent snap. Noah
Fox-Flores scored on a 27-yard reception three plays later to put the Bruins in
front 17-10 with 12:41 remaining. UCLA has outscored opponents 110-39 in the
fourth quarter.
"We own the second half. We own the fourth quarter, and we really take pride in
that as a team," Dieffenbach said. "We've just got to keep working hard and
keep preparing and we're going to win a lot more games."
The takeaway UCLA: With the early start --- 9 a.m. in Los Angeles --- and a kickoff temperature of 44 degrees against a team with plenty of upset potential, this was probably one of the three toughest games on the schedule for the Bruins, with rival USC still to come in three weeks. They showed plenty of resilience on both sides of the ball. "They just get as quickly as possible to the next play regardless of what just happened, and that's the sign of a good team," Chesney said. Minnesota: Lindsey found some rhythm and made a couple of clutch throws down the stretch, but not enough to keep up with the Bruins. With season-ending injuries to their top two centers hurting the pass protection, Lindsey has not been able to elevate the offense like the Gophers were expecting. They entered the week last in the Big Ten in yards per pass attempt.
Up next UCLA: vs. Illinois on Friday night. Minnesota: at Penn State next Saturday night. ___ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP's full college football coverage here.
The takeaway UCLA: With the early start --- 9 a.m. in Los Angeles --- and a kickoff temperature of 44 degrees against a team with plenty of upset potential, this was probably one of the three toughest games on the schedule for the Bruins, with rival USC still to come in three weeks. They showed plenty of resilience on both sides of the ball. "They just get as quickly as possible to the next play regardless of what just happened, and that's the sign of a good team," Chesney said. Minnesota: Lindsey found some rhythm and made a couple of clutch throws down the stretch, but not enough to keep up with the Bruins. With season-ending injuries to their top two centers hurting the pass protection, Lindsey has not been able to elevate the offense like the Gophers were expecting. They entered the week last in the Big Ten in yards per pass attempt.
Up next UCLA: vs. Illinois on Friday night. Minnesota: at Penn State next Saturday night. ___ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP's full college football coverage here.
