Sept. 12, 2026, 8:00 p.m. PT
The UCLA Bruins defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 28-10 in their home opener at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. on Sept. 12.
The Bruins were held scoreless for the first half of the game, but took the lead in the third and blew up in the fourth to steamroll the Aztecs. UCLA head coach Bob Chesney was able to keep his team together yet again as he leaves his first home opener in the Rose Bowl triumphant. Here were five takeaways from the Week 2 performance. Shutdown defense The Bruins defense defended their den viciously for the season opener as they held the Aztecs scoreless for the first three quarters of play. San Diego State’s lone touchdown came on the defense’s worse drive of the game that was filled with penalties that led the Aztecs down the field and into the endzone. Nonetheless, the defense was the strongest side of the ball for the majority of the game as they held the Aztecs to just 45-passing yards, had two sacks, six tackles-for-loss and an interception that was snagged by senior linebacker Jalen Woods.
Third down struggles The Bruin offense didn’t have a good day on third down as they successfully converted 4-of-11 attempts. The lack of third down success led to a scoreless first half in an ugly matchup between the two Southern California opponents. UCLA will need to clean up their offensive possessions if they want to compete with teams in the Big Ten. Wayne’s World UCLA’s leading scorer, senior running back Wayne Knight as proven to be the weapon Bruins fans were hoping he would be. Knight scored UCLA’s first two touchdowns of the game and tacked on another late in the fourth for the hat trick. He ended the game as the Bruins leading rusher with 97 rushing yards on 13 carries and has six total touchdowns in the first two games of the season.
Iamaleava on the move UCLA’s veteran quarterback Nico Iamaleava had an up-and-down performance against the Aztecs. The Bruins offense struggled in the first half of the game and a costly interception by Iamaleava in the endzone in the second quarter kept the Bruins deadlocked at 0-0 heading into the third. Iamaleava was successful on the run though as he put up 57 rushing yards on 13 carries to be the Bruins second best rusher of the night. UCLA’s signal caller ended the game completing 14-of-22 pass attempts for 151 passing yards. Bruins wake up in the fourth Just like last week, the Bruins offense clicked in the fourth to make the game appear to be a blowout.
As previously mentioned, Knight was a big factor in the tone shift as he scored two of his three touchdowns in the fourth. Woods had the defensive highlight as he ripped away an interception on a screen pass that led to senior running back Jaivian Thomas securing himself a touchdown in the fourth.
