EUGENE, Oregon — Sometimes the sequels are better.
In Bob Chesney’s return to Autzen Stadium after Oregon eliminated his James Madison team from last season’s College Football Playoff, his No. 21 Bruins met the moment and toppled the No. 13 Oregon Ducks 17-15 on Saturday.
The victory ended UCLA’s five-game losing streak against Oregon and was the Bruins’ first triumph in Eugene since 2004. Chesney became the first UCLA coach to start his tenure 5-0.
He took a moment to soak it in before meeting up with Oregon coach Dan Lanning for the postgame handshake.
“I was here before,” Chesney said. “They ended our season and sent us home. And I think (I) just wanted to take a second and feel him and see him one more time before I approached him.”
Chesney said earlier in the week that UCLA needed a “near perfect” game to beat the Ducks. He was wrong. In a pivotal game that many believed would expose the problems masked by UCLA’s early-season success, the Bruins — while imperfect — vehemently announced their arrival in the world of college football as legitimate playoff contenders.
And even though the Bruins proved some doubters wrong, they didn’t really care.
“We don’t focus on outside discussions,” senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho said. “It has no meaning for us, no focus for us, no value for us. We focus on ourselves and the jersey we are wearing at the moment.”
Oregon turned the ball over seven times. With quarterback Dante Moore still recovering from a head injury he suffered against USC, Ducks backup Dylan Raiola completed six of 19 passes for 43 yards and two interceptions before being replaced by third-string quarterback Brock Thomas, who completed 11 of 15 passes for 156 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who left the game late in the second quarter after injuring his right leg, completed 10 of 17 passes for 162 passing yards and two interceptions. Backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach completed three of six passes for 43 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers.
UCLA quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, left, and wide receiver Shane Rosenthal celebrate after the Bruins’ victory over Oregon.
(Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
Wayne Knight remained the key to UCLA’s offense, finishing with 103 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and three catches for 12 yards and another touchdown.
“I just know the guys up front are going to do a great job,” Knight said. “I trust them completely.”
Although the halftime score was not lopsided, UCLA dominated for two quarters. The Bruins gained 241 yards to Oregon’s 58. UCLA held a 162-36 advantage in passing yards and 79-22 in rushing yards.
On third downs, the Ducks were far from the 50% conversion rate they held heading into the contest, going 0 of 7 in the first half. Although UCLA wasn’t much better, going one for eight, its first 10 downs to Oregon’s three meant the Bruins had the ball 10 minutes more than the Ducks.
However, UCLA only led 10-6 at halftime. The Bruins failed to take care of the ball. Specifically, Iamaleava struggled, fumbling once and throwing interceptions to Oregon’s Koi Perich and Jerry Mixon.
His first-quarter fumble at the UCLA one-yard line immediately led to a Jordon Davison touchdown, and his two interceptions in the final two minutes of the half were glaring, the second occurring when the Bruins were within field goal range.
Although he didn’t direct his anger at Iamaleava, Chesney wasn’t happy with how the first half went.
“Disappointed with the first half to be honest with you,” Chesney said. “I’m really disappointed with how many chances we gave up there… We can’t put ourselves in the situations that we had, and I think that made this game very close at halftime.”
Unfortunately for Iamaleava, a chance at redemption in the second half did not materialize due to his injury. He remained in the locker room for most of the third quarter, returning to the sideline in street clothes.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava looks to pass against Oregon on Saturday.
(Lydia Ely/Associated Press)
“Nico was close to being able to come back today,” Chesney said. “I thought he was hit in the thigh, but there might be a little more to it. We’ll have to figure that out as we go through the process tonight and tomorrow.”
Fortunately, Dieffenbach was ready.
“They came with me, so when I heard that, it was tunnel vision, just ready to execute,” Dieffenbach said. “(Chesney) says the lights are going to shine and someone is going to be exposed (or) you’re going to be exposed. That was kind of the mentality of today.”
A scoreless third quarter ensued. It didn’t go without incident, however, as UCLA forced another fumble and picked off Raiola again, ultimately leading to Lanning walking Thomas in to start the fourth quarter.
Starting the fourth with great field position, the Bruins needed three plays to score. Dieffenbach found Knight for a nine-yard score, giving UCLA a 17-6 lead with just over 13 minutes to play.
On Oregon’s next possession, facing a fourth-and-1, UCLA stuffed Thomas, again managing a fumble. There was just over 11 minutes remaining as a noticeable number of Oregon fans began heading toward the exits.
But the Ducks showed some life. On a drive bolstered by a 36-yard pass from Thomas to Dakorien Moore, Oregon’s Gage Hurych kicked a 26-yard field goal with 5:16 remaining, cutting the lead to one possession.
The wind has turned. Opening the next possession at its 43-yard line, Oregon needed just four plays to find the end zone, with Thomas throwing a 44-yard touchdown pass to Evan Stewart. A failed two-point conversion followed, but a UCLA facemask penalty gave Oregon one more chance to tie the score.
The Ducks came up short, with Tyson Ford and Jalen Woods setting up Davison at the one-yard line.
UCLA finally punted with 48 seconds remaining, pinning Oregon at its own 10-yard line. The Bruins defense withstood the Ducks’ final push and celebrated a milestone victory during a turnaround season.
At 5-0, the Bruins will celebrate tonight. But Chesney plans to bring them back to earth soon enough.
“Tomorrow it will be the same message: It doesn’t matter,” Chesney said. “Now we have to get better. How can we get better? We go back and look at the things we need to fix. We evaluate our personnel and see where we are once we know if some of these guys will be back next week. There’s still a lot of football to be played, so it doesn’t matter. Getting better is always the message when we get over the hump, but not right away. We’ll get to that tomorrow.”
UCLA players celebrate after beating Oregon on Saturday.
(Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
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