Key Lawrence sprawled out on Spartan Stadium’s grass, posing with a Michigan State towel as if he’d gone game hunting.
The redshirt senior safety’s teammates surrounded him as he posed for the cameras, holding the Spartan-branded gear like a trophy — a collectible for the Bruins’ second consecutive win and first on the road.
Energy continues to build and expand in the UCLA (2-4, 2-1 Big Ten) locker room, an unrecognizable story that’s continuing to write its next act as the Bruins remain the talk of the town after their 38-13 victory over the Spartans on Saturday afternoon.
UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper had reminded his players of the importance of not becoming a one-hit wonder. The Bruins could have reverted to their 0-4 roots, the dismal football prologue before UCLA’s upset victory over then-No. 7 Penn State last week.
“(One-hit wonder) was on every single screen (on the plane), everywhere you could look,” Skipper told reporters. “It’s kind of like Santa Claus — you don’t know how the presents got there, but they got there, so those messages were there somehow, some way.”
If the plane ride was the night before Christmas, then Santa Claus continued to bring presents for the Bruins with success on the field.
Before Jerry Neuheisel took over UCLA’s offense? The Bruins tallied just 57 across for four games. Now, they’ve scored 80 combined against Penn State and Michigan State.
UCLA’s 38 consecutive points were the most it scored unanswered against an FBS opponent since 2015 against Oregon State.
“We were uptight the first four games, and I feel like we went out there and let our hair flow, and we were playing for fun,” quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who completed 16 of 24 passes for 180 yards with three touchdowns, told reporters.
Before Kevin Coyle took over UCLA’s defense? In just one of the Bruins’ first six halves, they’d held an opposing offense to seven or fewer points. Now, they’ve limited their foes to that mark in four halves in their last three games.
UCLA conceded a season-low in opponent’s total offense, Michigan State only gaining 253 yards overall. In stopping the running game, the Bruins held the Spartans to just 87 rushing yards — a season-low, and the least amount of yards UCLA had allowed on the ground since the season-finale against Skipper’s Fresno State.
“You’re going to have a lot of fun when you’re winning, we need to continue that, but I’m one of those guys, man, all the decisions and things that are in my head, I’m just locked in to each single play,” Skipper said. “I’ll enjoy this for a little while, but once we land back in L.A., I’m going to get ready for the next one.”
UCLA’s unsung heroes in East Lansing
Siale Taupaki entered Westwood as a defensive lineman. Before the 2023 season, the Oakland native shifted to the offensive line, where he played sporadically in seven games.
Taupaki, now in his second consecutive season back on the defensive line, earned a tackle for loss at the beginning of the second half, pulling Michigan State running back Brandon Tullis to the ground for a loss of one yard. But that was not where Taupaki made his most impact.
Lining up as a wide receiver on a fourth-and-2, Taupaki — at 6-foot-4, 335 lbs — laid out a block to get Jalen Berger four yards and a first down. Moments later, with an identical formation, Jaivian Thomas took the wildcat snap and followed Taupaki as the defensive lineman slammed a Michigan State linebacker to the ground so Thomas could cruise in for the score and a 31-7 lead.
Taupaki wasn’t the only Bruin showing some trickery. In the second quarter, when it appeared as if UCLA was going to punt when a drive stalled, defensive back Cole Martin took the snap on a punt, pushing forward for 20 yards and a first down.
Later that drive, Berger earned a receiving touchdown — one of his three scores Saturday — as Martin’s clutch special teams play kept the proverbial foot on the pedal in East Lansing.
“Shout out to Coach B-Mac (senior special teams analyst Bailey McElwain),” Martin told reporters. “He does a great job of preparing us the right way. So when we go out there, it’s just regular execution. Go out there and go through our checklist and perform the play, just worked to perfection that time.”