On Sat, Oct 10, the UCLA Bruins faced the Oregon Ducks in a high-stakes Big Ten Conference game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. Both foes were coming off a bye week and were both in the AP Top 25 poll while idle and heading into this matchup. The Bruins were the 21st-ranked team in the country while the Ducks had moved up to 13th in the nation. The big headline of the game was the status of Oregon QB Dante Moore, who began his career at UCLA before transferring to Eugene after his freshman season. Moore suffered a concussion in a 41-27 win over the USC Trojans on Sept 26 and was replaced by Dylan Raiola, who led the Ducks to a big win. Heading into the game, Moore attempted to practice but was ultimately ruled out of the game on Wed, Oct 7. Raiola would get his first start wearing an Oregon jersey since transferring there following two seasons at Nebraska. The Bruins faced Raiola in a game that occurred on Nov 2, 2024 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln and they won the game by a close margin. The roster and coaching staff were completely different then, as Bob Chesney was leading this UCLA football squad into a place where they had not won a game in over 20 years. It was also a chance at redemption for Chesney and the staff members and players that followed him from James Madison University to Westwood as the JMU Dukes lost a College Football Playoff First Round game to the Fighting Ducks 51-34. Moore had a good game on that Saturday night in December, but with him sidelined and Raiola starting, the undefeated Bruins had a chance to get a statement win against an old Pacific Coast rival.
The game started with UCLA getting the first possession and Nico Iamaleava made a big play right away as he threw a deep pass that was caught by Aidan Mizell for a massive gain of 62 yards into Oregon’s red zone. Wayne Knight had a couple of runs that awarded the Bruins a first down at the one-yard line, but the offense failed to punch the ball into the end zone on the next three plays. Instead of going for it on fourth and goal, Chesney decided to play it safe and bring the field goal unit on to the turf. Mateen Bhaghani attempted a chip-shot 21-yard field goal that he made to put UCLA up 3-0. A missed chance in the red zone, but a good result on the opening drive.
The opening drive for the Ducks began with Raiola completing a 16-yard pass to wideout Dakorien Moore(no relationship to Dante) for a first down. But the Bruins defense held strong and stopped Oregon on the next set of downs. The ensuing punt from Bryce Ettridge was fair caught by Cole Martin at the ten-yard line. The first play on the next drive for UCLA took a sour turn when Iamaleava attempted to pass the ball, but it slipped right out of his hand and fell to the field around the end zone. It was a fumble and the ball was recovered by defensive back Koi Perich at the one-yard line. The unfortunate fumble from Iamaleava led to an easy touchdown run by Jordan Davison and the Ducks had taken the lead. However, instead of attempting a conventional extra point, Dan Lanning drew up an odd two-point conversion play where backup quarterback Brock Thomas tried to run the ball in himself. But he was stopped by Malik Hartford as the unnecessary attempt at two points for Oregon had failed.
The next few drives for both teams were unproductive as the UCLA offense had troubles with its rushing game against the strong Ducks defense. Meanwhile, Raiola could not complete a single pass against the Bruins secondary and was facing pressure from the edge rushers. At the beginning of the second quarter, UCLA was pinned deep inside of its territory and following a three-and-out they had to punt the ball back to Oregon. Sophomore punter Curtis Gerrand booted the ball to midfield and the Ducks had good field position for their next drive. A couple of productive runs in wildcat formation gave the Ducks a first down in the Bruins’ red zone. However, on the next play, Davison tried to run with the ball in wildcats but he lost possession of the ball. It was a fumble and defensive lineman Tyson Ford recovered the ball. The first turnover of the day was a very timely one for UCLA. Unfortunately, the Bruins’ offense could not do anything off the fumble recovery as Gerrand punted the ball back to Oregon and a good punt return put the ball at midfield again.
The next drive for the Ducks’ offense was aided on a third down and seven illegal substitution foul on UCLA for having too many players on the field when the snap happened. However, on the redo of third down, Raiola got hit in the pocket by linebacker Anthony Sacca, who forced the ball out of Raiola’s grasp and the strip-sacked ball was recovered by Amier Washington. A second straight fumble forced and recovered by the Colin Hitschler coordinated defense. A couple of good runs by Anthony Woods and Iamaleava gave the Bruins a first down and shortly after, a wildcat formation was drawn up as Knight got the snap and ran through the defenders. Finally loose, Knight ran all the way to the end zone for his tenth rushing touchdown of the season. The PAT by Bhaghani was good and UCLA had reclaimed the lead on a big run by their star running back.
Oregon’s offense had another three-and-out drive and the following possession for the Bruins began with an Iamaleava completion to Brian Rowe Jr for 22 yards. Iamaleava threw another big completion to Landon Ellis, who gained 26 yards and picked up a first down in the Ducks’ red zone. However, the drive stalled and the field goal unit came on again for UCLA. Bhaghani attempted a 27-yard kick that would be easy to make in most circumstances, but in this case the kick was blocked by Matayo Uiagalelei and the attempt fell short of the goalpost. Another huge missed opportunity for the Bruins to score in the red zone as their lead was not as big as it could have been.
Heading towards the two-minute timeout, the Ducks had another three-and-out and Chesney called a timeout to preserve time on the clock. The UCLA offense had the ball at its 38-yard line to start this critical two-minute drill possession. The drive started with Iamaleava getting sacked for a loss of seven yards by Uiagalelei, but on the next play he found Semaj Morgan for a big gain of 19 yards and a first down at midfield. The clock stopped as the chain gain reset itself and on the next play, Iamaleava looked to pass the ball again. But this pass would be intercepted by defensive back Jerry Mixon at the 40-yard line and the Ducks’ offense had a big chance to score now. Lanning had called one of his team’s timeouts during the drive that ended in the interception, but on a third and long play, Raiola evaded a sack and threw a ball that was deflected and intercepted by Ta’Shawn James, who got his team-leading fourth interception of the season. Now with the ball back and one timeout remaining, UCLA could resume its quest for getting a score before the half was over.
Iamaleava completed a pass to Morgan for a gain of 14 yards for a first down in field goal territory. With the clock still running, the Bruins offense got set for its next play as Iamaleava took the snap and ran forward with the ball. But he got tackled hard and even got hit in the helmet ironically by Bear Alexander while he was down on the field. Iamaleava was in serious pain as another scary injury had occurred to him. The athletic training staff came on to tend to Iamaleava, whose leg was injured on the play. Iamaleava eventually got up and limped to the sidelines as a backup QB had to come in for at least one play. It would not be Madden Iamaleava who came in for his brother, but instead Ty Dieffenbach, who was a senior transfer from Cal Poly. Dieffenbach threw a deep pass towards the end zone that was intended for Rowe, who was unable to make the catch. Following the incompletion, Dieffenbach went back to the sidelines and Iamaleava came back in for the third down play. Iamaleava attempted to throw a ball into the end zone, but it was a poor pass and the ball was intercepted by Perich. Another huge missed chance by the Bruins to score as Iamaleava threw two interceptions in the final two minutes of the half and had sustained an injury to his right leg.
The sloppy first half ended with a 10-6 score in favor of UCLA. Multiple potential chances for additional points in failed red zone drives and end of half possessions were squandered by the offense. Meanwhile, the Bruins defense was doing an incredible job on Raiola, who had only completed five of 14 passing attempts for 34 yards and had led three drives that ended with a turnover. With five combined turnovers in the first half, this game between old rivals was not as high-scoring as many people thought it would be. The second half was going to be a crucial turning point that showed which team was more willing to find a way to win this mangled matchup.
The Ducks got the ball first to start the new half and Raiola threw two straight incompletions to led another three-and-out drive. The UCLA offense would come onto the field, but Iamaleava was not present. Instead, Dieffenbach was in at QB as Iamaleava’s leg injury would keep him out for the rest of this game. The drive began with three rushes in a row by Knight, who picked up a first down on the third one. Dieffenbach then completed his first pass of the game to Leland Smith, who picked up 20 yards into Oregon territory for a first down. The drive would not progress any further as Dieffenbach got sacked on two straight drop backs to force the Bruins out of field goal range. The ensuing drive for the Ducks began at the 11-yard line and a couple of runs by Davison awarded Oregon a first down. Following a four-yard run by backup RB Dierre Hill Jr, Raiola threw a pass that was caught by receiver Evan Stewart, who ran forward but got tackled and the ball was forced out by Scooter Jackson. It was a fumble and it was recovered by Jalen Woods, with UCLA’s defense forcing its fourth turnover of the game.
With great field position, the Bruins needed to score on this next drive to create some separation away from the Ducks. The drive began with an 11-yard run by Anthony Woods for a first down. After a scramble by Dieffenbach for six yards and a five-yard run by Knight for a first down, the offense was within range of the end zone once again. Knight would be contained on three straight carries and UCLA was unable to pick up a first down. On fourth and less than two yards and three from the end zone, Chesney decided to keep the offense on the field to go for it. Knight got another handoff but was unable to pick up the necessary yardage for a first down. For the third time in the game, the Bruins had gotten into the red zone and came up short of getting a touchdown.
Despite the missed chances for the offense to extend the lead, the UCLA defense was having its way with the Ducks’ offense as Raiola committed his third turnover of the game and the fifth one overall when he threw an interception to Tao Johnson. The third quarter ended on a high note for the Bruins as Dieffenbach completed a pass to Morgan for a gain of 14 yards and a first down. The fourth quarter began with UCLA’s fourth appearance in the Oregon red zone and a seven-yard run by Knight set up a third down play where Dieffenbach scrambled outside the pocket and threw the ball to Knight, who caught it in the end zone. A big touchdown there by the Bruins, who extended their lead to 11 points on the extra point make by Bhaghani. A lead like this seemed improbable to overcome for a struggling Ducks’ offense.
Lanning made a QB change as he benched Raiola and brought in Brock Thomas, who had attempted that ill-fated two-point conversion in the first quarter. Thomas did not throw a pass initially in the drive as the running backs Davison and Hill ran the ball down the throats of the UCLA defense. But a third down stop by Sahir West forced Lanning to keep his offense on the field to go for it on fourth and short. Thomas tried running the ball up the middle, but the snap was not clean and the loose ball was recovered by Sacca. Even though it was a turnover on downs, the fumble recovery marked the sixth turnover of the game for the mighty Bruins’ defense.
An offensive holding penalty held back the offense on the next drive and a punt occurred that placed the offense for Oregon at the 32-yard line. Following a couple of bad runs, on third down Thomas attempted his first pass and it was caught by Stewart, who was tackled by West. But there was a flag on the field as West had grabbed Stewart’s face mask. The personal foul gave Oregon an automatic first down and on the next play Thomas threw a short pass to Dakorien Moore, who gained a massive amount of 36 yards for a first down into Bruins’ territory. There was a penalty marker on the field for a roughing the passer foul on Aidan Gobaira for hitting Thomas hard after the ball was thrown and the Ducks had the ball at the UCLA 10-yard line. With a golden chance to score a touchdown, Oregon was stopped by the Bruins defense and had to settle for a 26-yard field goal made by kicker Gage Hurych. But the Ducks were down by eight points now, needing a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game up.
With five minutes left in regulation, the UCLA offense needed to have a strong drive that milked off some time on the clock. A couple of runs by Woods and Knight came short of the line to gain, with a third down play occurring after Chesney called the team’s first timeout of the second half. The third down play was a Dieffenbach pass that went by Row and incomplete. With plenty of time left on the clock, Oregon’s offense had a chance to drive down the field and get the game-tying score.
The punt by Gerrand positioned the Ducks at their 43-yard line and Thomas started the drive by throwing a short completion to Jamari Johnson for a six-yard gain. The next play was a Thomas completion to Dak. Moore for a seven-yard gain and a first down. Out of the shotgun on the next play, Thomas threw a deep pass that was incomplete to Moore. But then, Thomas threw a ball up the middle that was caught by Stewart, who evaded Bruins defenders and raced all the way to the end zone for the touchdown. A big play before the two-minute timeout and Oregon attempted a two-point conversion. The initial two-point play had Thomas run up the middle and he was tackled short of the line to gain. But there was a flag on the play for a face mask foul on Sammy Omosigho and the Ducks would get a second chance from the one and a half yard line. on the redo, Thomas ran it up again and he was stopped short of the goal line. A big stop by the Bruins defense, but the margin on the scoreboard was just two points with more than two minutes left on the clock.
On the ensuing kickoff, Hurych kicked the ball out of bounds and the UCLA offense would start this critical drive from the 35-yard line. A strong run by Knight picked up nine yards before the two-minute timeout. The Ducks had two timeouts left to stop the clock and they gave up a first down to the Bruins on an offsides foul by Uiagalelei. Knight ran the ball two times in a row and only picked up four yards combined. Lanning called the final two timeouts for his team and on third down Anthony Woods ran for a gain of four. Being two yards short of the line to gain, UCLA ran the clock down and took a delay of game penalty. The ensuing punt by Gerrand was a good one and it rolled all the way to the five-yard line. Oregon had a long way to go to get into game-winning field goal range for Huryck, but the Bruins defense needed one last stop to secure the victory.
The first play was a Thomas completion to receiver Messiah Hampton, who went out of bounds for a seven-yard gain. Thomas completed another short pass to Hampton for a two-yard gain but Hampton was taken down in bounds and the clock ran. On a quick third down, Thomas threw it again to Hampton for a five-yard gain and a first down. With less than 20 seconds left, the Ducks were running out of time and Thomas threw a deep pass that was caught by the receiver Moore for 18 yards and a first down. The Oregon offense then spiked the ball to stop the clock and with 15 seconds left, Thomas launched another deep ball that was barely incomplete to Moore. On third down with 10 seconds, Thomas threw another incomplete pass and on fourth down a final lateral play happened when Thomas threw the ball to Stewart, who sprinted up the middle and lateraled it to Johnson, who threw another lateral that went incomplete and the Bruins recovered it to end the game.
An amazing win for UCLA, which had won its first game against the Ducks since 2017 and also had its first victory at Autzen Stadium in more than 20 years. The last time a Bruins football team won a game in Eugene was Nov 13, 2004. Even though the offense missed out on a lot of chances to score, the defense did its job well in making Raiola look back and forcing six turnovers against the Ducks offense. The status of Iamaleava after getting hurt is unknown, but Ty Dieffenbach did as good as a backup QB could have done in scoring off at least one of those turnovers with his TD pass to Knight, who had another multi-TD effort. Knight leads the team with 11 total touchdowns on the season and with the win over the 13th-ranked Ducks, this Bruins squad under Bob Chesney is looking legitimately good to compete for a Big Ten championship game appearance and potentially a berth into the College Football Playoff. The next three games for the 5-0 UCLA football team will occur at the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin, Michigan State and Nevada. Along with the defending-champion Indiana Hoosiers, the Bruins are the only other undefeated team in the Big Ten and with Robert Chesney Jr at the helm of the program, the sky is the limit for this amazing team. Getting a long-awaited win against Oregon on the road is just the latest accomplishment for this special UCLA Bruins gridiron squad looking to make history in so many ways this season.
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