UCLA shakes off ugly first half, surges late to beat San Diego State in home opener
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Short-term memory. Coaches stress it — and UCLA needed it Saturday in its home opener against San Diego State.
After his team reached the red zone only once in the first half — on a drive that culminated with an interception near the goal line — Bob Chesney probably wanted to forget about how the Bruins played in the first 30 minutes of his coaching debut at the Rose Bowl.
Fortunately for Chesney, he can feel better about how UCLA performed in the second half.
Scoring all of their points after halftime, the Bruins defeated San Diego State 28-10 to remain unbeaten on the young season.
Although the passing game has yet to take flight, the Bruins’ ground attack shined again with 214 yards and four touchdowns. Fifth-year tailback Wayne Knight led the way again, scoring three touchdowns for the second straight game as he rushed for 97 yards in 13 carries.
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UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava struggled in his return to the Rose Bowl, completing 14 of 22 passes for 151 yards and an interception — giving him two turnovers and zero touchdown passes through two games.
Iamaleava’s costliest mistake came at the start of the second quarter when, rolling out to the right, he attempted to throw off his back foot to tight end Harry Lodge in the end zone, only to be picked off by San Diego State cornerback Mike Lindsay.
With starting wideouts Mikey Matthews and Landon Ellis sidelined, it was senior Semaj Morgan who rose to the occasion, the Michigan transfer hauling in six catches for 73 yards and setting up the Bruins’ first touchdown with a 25-yard punt return.
While the UCLA offense failed to ignite until the second half, the “Bruin Bullies” enforced their will on San Diego State from the start.
The Bruins held Aztecs quarterback Jayden Denegal to just 45 yards on six-of-17 passing. Linebacker Jalen Woods set up UCLA’s third touchdown by picking off Denegal in the fourth quarter.
The Bruins’ pass rush continued to create havoc, following up their three-sack performance against Cal with two sacks.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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