UCLA 28, Michigan State 10: Bruins run for 245 yards and score 28 straight

Michigan State scored first at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. It did not score again until the game was decided.

No. 9 UCLA answered an early 7-0 deficit with 28 unanswered points, built on 245 rushing yards and a time-of-possession edge of nearly 12 minutes, and beat the Spartans 28-10. The Bruins are 7-0. Michigan State is 2-6 and has lost six straight.

How it was won

The Spartans had the early answer. K. Coffman found Kenneth Williams for a 14-yard touchdown with 5:26 left in the first quarter, and L. Boyd's kick made it 7-0.

That lead lasted into the second quarter. J. Thomas ran 7 yards for a touchdown at 11:00 to tie it, and Wayne Knight finished a drive with a 1-yard run at 3:04. UCLA took a 14-7 lead into halftime.

The third quarter settled it. Two minutes in, Ty Dieffenbach hit Brian Rowe Jr. for 63 yards and a touchdown. At 5:27, Anthony Woods ran 4 yards for another. M. Bhaghani converted all four extra points, and it was 28-7.

Boyd's 46-yard field goal with 6:18 left was Michigan State's only points after the first quarter.

The box score was lopsided. UCLA outgained Michigan State 443 to 156 and had 25 first downs to 11. The Bruins held the ball for 35:58 against 24:02.

Woods led the ground game with 112 yards on 14 carries. Knight added 56 yards on 15 carries. Dieffenbach went 18 of 31 for 198 yards and the touchdown to Rowe, who finished with 74 yards on three catches. Semaj Morgan led UCLA in receptions with seven for 70 yards.

Michigan State could not move the ball in any sustained way. The Spartans had 109 passing yards and 47 rushing yards and converted 2 of 11 third downs. Leo Hannan was 9 of 15 for 67 yards with an interception. Kenneth Williams carried 17 times for 54 yards. Chrishon McCray caught three passes for 42 yards.

The game was not clean on either side. Michigan State turned it over three times and UCLA twice, but the Bruins' offense produced enough between mistakes that it did not matter. UCLA was 6 of 16 on third down, a modest number that its rushing totals covered for.

Against the number

UCLA closed at -16.5 and won by 18, so the Bruins covered. The moneylines closed at Michigan State +575 and UCLA -850.

The total closed at 43.5. With 38 points scored, the under came in. Michigan State's 10 points did most of that work, and the fourth quarter produced only Boyd's field goal.

Full pricing history is on the game page.

What's next

UCLA hosts Nevada on Saturday, October 31, on BTN. The Bruins have won two of their last three by a combined 12 points, 17-7 over Wisconsin and 17-15 at No. 13 Oregon, so a comfortable margin here is the second in a row after this one. They remain unbeaten with a résumé that includes a road win in Eugene and a 54-3 result at Maryland.

Michigan State next plays Saturday, November 7, at Michigan. The Spartans' last two losses before this one came by a combined four points, 24-21 to No. 25 Northwestern and 38-37 to Illinois. Their two wins came against Toledo and Eastern Michigan in the first two weeks of the season.