LOS ANGELES — UCLA coach Bob Chesney is ever aware of the perils that could befall his team against Michigan State on Saturday.
Michigan State has lost five in a row since beating Eastern Michigan and Toledo. The Spartans’ last two losses were decided by three points or less to Illinois and Northwestern.
UCLA gave up 140 rushing yards last week and will attempt to quell the physicality and speed of Spartans running back Jaziun Patterson. The Iowa transfer rushed for 72 yards last week against Northwestern and rushed for 93 yards and three touchdowns the previous week against Illinois.
“You watch him in some big games, just the violence he plays with,” Chesney said of the 5-foot-10, 214-pound senior. “He’s downhill, and if he gets a little seam, he’s able to be explosive. And at the end of the run, he punishes. He’s not looking to go down; he’s not looking to get out of bounds. They open up holes nicely for him.”
No. 9-ranked UCLA (6-0, 4-0 Big Ten) hosts Michigan State (2-5, 0-4) at 12:30 p.m. at the Rose Bowl. And with the latest rankings come expectations, with the Bruins being favored by 13.5 points, according to Oddschecker.
Senior quarterback Ty Dieffenbach completed 22 of 33 passes for 264 yards while the Bruins’ defense limited Wisconsin to 66 passing yards in a 17-7 home victory Saturday.
The game demanded Dieffenbach make big plays, even if they didn’t lead to touchdowns. He made them, including a 28-yard pass to Landon Ellis when UCLA was backed up to its 3-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter.
Chesney explained the process he’s used to develop Dieffenbach and the players he’s coached since being hired in December.
“It’s seasonal,” Chesney said. “So your winter is laying your foundation for you to get into spring. Spring is now introducing more football but the style in the ‘how’ not the ‘what,’ but the ‘how’ is certainly developed. That’s your first interaction of putting in this playbook.
“You get into the summer, and it comes with a lot of conditioning. That builds your cardio, the things that come along with your fitness and strength and all the things you need to play this game. That becomes a building block for your body because you’re not going to get faster or stronger during the season.”
The work to reach 6-0 starts during the morning and afternoon practices during the winter, spring, and summer. The multiple reps of running plays and building strength add up to the product being put out by UCLA.
And by leaning on what was taught during those months, the anxiety of protecting a spot atop the top 25 lessens for UCLA.
“That’s something that remains about the same,” Chesney said. “There’s a flow to the year, but there’s a flow within those weeks within the segments of the year, and that’s what ultimately got to do with it. We have a blueprint. We tweak it here and there, but ultimately we know what we are doing; we know how many reps we want to get out here, and we just trust we need to do. Just trust that it’s all built the right way through psychology, sports science and reps.”