Steve Young reveals boyhood 'secret love' for UCLA as Bruins hold off Wisconsin to reach 6-0

Steve Young picked with his heart on Saturday, and UCLA gave him nothing to regret. On ESPN's College GameDay before the Bruins hosted Wisconsin, the Hall of Fame quarterback said he had grown up on the East Coast watching the Rose Bowl every New Year's and had always quietly wished he could play in powder blue and gold. "I had a secret love for UCLA," Young said, according to ClutchPoints.

Hours later the Bruins beat the Badgers 17-7 at the Rose Bowl. They are 6-0 for the first time since 2022 and 4-0 in conference play, and they are now the only unbeaten team left in the Big Ten. According to UCLA Athletics, the four league wins already top the three UCLA managed in each of its first two Big Ten seasons.

The Bruins did it with a backup at quarterback. Ty Dieffenbach, the Calabasas native who took over after Nico Iamaleava was hurt, made his first FBS start and went 22 of 33 for 264 yards. His opening possession started at UCLA's own 10, ran 16 plays and 84 yards, took 8:42 off the clock and ended in a Mateen Bhaghani field goal. Semaj Morgan caught five passes for a career-high 84 yards. Wayne Knight and Anthony Woods each ran for a touchdown, Knight's 11th of the season.

The defense did the rest. Wisconsin finished with season lows of seven points and 214 yards. Colton Joseph ran for 71 yards and the Badgers' only touchdown, which came after a UCLA trick play went wrong early in the third quarter, but he completed just six of 16 passes for 66 yards. Linebacker Jalen Woods led the Bruins with eight tackles and had a sack.

What it means for the next game

UCLA hosts Michigan State at the Rose Bowl on October 24. The way the Bruins have been winning has shifted. They scored 52 and 54 points in back-to-back weeks against Purdue and Maryland, then won 17-15 at No. 13 Oregon and 17-7 against Wisconsin. The scoring has dropped, but the defense has given up an average of 11 points over those last two games. Michigan State's most recent game on the record here is a 31-3 loss at Wisconsin, the same Badgers team UCLA just held to one touchdown. The key question for the Bruins is whether Dieffenbach stays in the job, and how well the offense works with him in a full week of practice as the starter.

Wisconsin falls to 4-2 and gets no break. No. 19 USC visits Madison on NBC the same Saturday. The Trojans are favored on this site's board for USC at Wisconsin, which covers five venues. Novig has USC at -144, while DraftKings has the best price on the Trojans at -130, a 14-cent gap. Novig lists Wisconsin at +122. USC is a 2.5-point favorite, and the best prices on either side of the spread are -110 on USC at DraftKings and -108 on Wisconsin at FanDuel. The total sits between 49.5 and 51 depending on the venue. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 4.1% to 4.8%.

The Badgers have shown they can win on the road against a ranked team, beating No. 13 Penn State 24-20. But they have now scored seven and 13 points in their two losses, both against ranked opponents. USC will be the third ranked team they have played in four weeks.