PASADENA — Dozens of UCLA students ripped off their Bruin-blue T-shirts and waved them around at the top of the Rose Bowl stands.
First, there were a few. Then, there were many. Trotting up the steep stairs to empty cheap seats, the dozens became hundreds, a spectacle in the crowd for the red-hot Bruins. The vibes were high — and why wouldn’t they be?
UCLA, the talk of the town — not just of Westwood — but of the nation since its upset of then-No. 7 Penn State continued to walk the walk. UCLA, however, walked more of a tightrope act on Saturday.
Redshirt senior Anthony Frias II — a little-used tailback — picked up where the Bruins left off against Michigan State, leaving the Terrapins turning in their shells in the wake of his 55-yard rushing touchdown to grasp a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. His last run, however, was the most important.
Tied at 17 with 18 seconds left, Frias steamed forward for 35 yards to the five-yard line. Kicker Mateen Bhaghani connected from 23 yards and UCLA escaped with a 20-17 victory.
It was one of those days again for UCLA (3-4, 3-1 Big Ten). The stunning season turnaround continued to churn along — and this time, it was the defense’s turn to have a go. Kevin Coyle, the senior defensive analyst whom interim head coach Tim Skipper tasked with calling plays following former defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe’s departure, has found sustained success since taking over before UCLA faced Northwestern.
Before the game, Coyle stalked the Maryland (4-3, 1-3) sideline with graduate assistant Shae Pitts, eyeing the pre-game developments in Terrapin territory. Maybe such preparation paid off. In the last eight halves, the Bruins have held their foes’ offenses to seven or fewer points in six of the halves.
“Coyle trust Skip, Skip trust Coyle,” former Fresno State linebacker Levelle Bailey told the Southern California News Group recently. “Those two guys right there, for sure, build a real dynamic duo.”
So far, since Skipper took over UCLA on Sept. 14, that’s proven to be the case. UCLA stymied Maryland in the first half, recording three tackles for loss and a turnover — forced by linebacker Isaiah Chisom — to hold the Terrapins to just three points.
In the third quarter, after Maryland running back DaJuan Williams brought the Terrapins to first and goal, redshirt senior defensive back Andre Jordan Jr. secured a turnover on downs on 4th-and-2 with an acrobatic, one-handed pass breakup (of 13 team-wide) to keep the score at 7-3.
And on Saturday, thanks to the stout defensive effort (holding Maryland to a six-of-17 effort in third down), they won ugly. Errors stunted the growth of a lead for the Bruins across the game.
In the first quarter, Bhaghani was moments away from attempting a 55-yard field goal. Instead, the often-reliable placekicker received a rare delay of game penalty, pushing the Bruins out of field-goal territory, forcing UCLA to punt. He later missed a 56-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
As the clock dwindled in the first half, Nico Iamaleava — who finished the game 21-of-35 with 221 passing yards — tossed an interception on an errant pass while being chased by Maryland edge rushers. He later tossed a pick-six, lost a fumble and faced a fourth-quarter injury scare before returning to lead the Bruins on their game-winning drive. The victory was not guaranteed.
A gutsy play call from Skipper and offensive play caller Jerry Neuheisel led to a 4th-and-10 conversion from their own 49-yard line on a Nico Iamaleava pass to Kwazi Gilmer. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-6 from the 14-yard line, Iamaleava caught Matthews wide open for a 14-yard touchdown with 3:33 remaining in the game to take a late 14-10 lead.
Iamaleava’s best throws of the day, combined with safety Scooter Jackson’s interception on the following drive, proved enough to get the Bruins within arm’s reach of three consecutive Big Ten wins.
UCLA had just enough oomph to triumph and keep the headlines rolling with an invitation to the Big Noon Kickoff on FOX next week.