1st Quarter
MSU won the toss and elected to kickoff. UCLA got things going with a false start penalty so they could already be behind the sticks. They eventually got those 5 yards back through three downs
and had to punt.
On the Spartans’ first possession, which started from their 41, we saw the first big play from Nick Marsh as he caught a pass on 3rd down, escaped his defender’s grasp, and darted down the side for some big YAC. On the second series, MSU again faced a 3rd down, and this time Aidan Chiles picked it up with a keeper to the left side of the formation. On the ensuing 1st down, they tried an end-around, but Omari Kelly got snuffed for a loss of 2. After a TE slant by Jack Velling to bring up a 3rd & 3, Makhi Frazier carried the rock up the middle to earn a 1st & goal at the 2. Chiles carried it in on the 1st down play. MSU 7-0.
On the Bruins’ 2nd drive, they got their first 1st down on a 3rd down chunk play and crossed into Spartan territory. The visitors grabbed another 1st down after a pair of runs got it to the 35. On 3rd & 5, David Santiago got pressure on Nico Iamaleava and forced him to try and run, but the linebackers were ready and MSU forced UCLA into 4th down. They would convert the field goal. MSU 7-3.
After taking a touchback, MSU quickly found themselves in a 3rd & 6. A throw to Elijah Tau-Tolliver, which ETT had use his Inspector Gadget Arm to reel in, led to a 4th down play with just less than a yard to the sticks. Jonathan Smith elected to go for it. It was a pitch right to Makhi Frazier, but the running back did not pick up the first down.
UCLA took over from the 35 of MSU. On first down, they ran the ball 17 yards to the 18. On a 2nd & 9 play, UCLA went with the direct snap to the RB Jalen Berger who gashed right all the way to the endzone. UCLA 10-7.
MSU fielded a deep kickoff but only returned it out to the 13. Aidan Chiles had a wide-open Kelly to the left but threw the pass a little too far. After a short run, Chiles tried to hit Masunas on 3rd down, but the pass went through his hands, perhaps due to a bit too much velocity. Ryan Eckley came in to punt. He got a friendly bounce and flipped the field somewhat.
UCLA started from their 37 but took a sack on the first play. Quindarius Dunnigan brought Iamaleava down for a 6-yard loss. That brought the 1st quarter to an end.
2nd Quarter
After an incompletion, Iamaleava checked down to his RB who scrambled to within 2 yards of the marker. UCLA lined up to punt on 4th and 2, but faked it with the snap going to the protector, and his run went all the way to the MSU 35. UCLA hit a big pass on 1st down to the 13, and then had a rush down to the 5. to bring up 2nd & 2. UCLA ended up with a 4th & 1, but earned the 1st with a QB sneak. On the next play, Nico found his RB Berger to the left side for a walk-in score. UCLA 17-7.
After getting a first down on the first series, Chiles fumbled the ball on the ensuing play when he was trying to tuck the ball back into his body after a pump fake but could not secure the ball before the defender managed to punch it out. The Bruins pounced on the loose ball and recovered it at MSU’s 32.
Back on offense, UCLA methodically moved the ball down and had it goal to go at the 10. The Spartan defense forced a 3rd down from the 7, and a false start penalty moved it back to the 12. Didn’t matter. Nico found his receiver coming across the field and threw a TD. UCLA 24-7.
If MSU does not get a touchdown on this drive, I may not watch the 2nd half. 3-yard run, 3-yard pass, incomplete pass (wheel route to Frazier). Punt returned to their 42.
First play, UCLA takes the deep shot. 37-yard completion to MSU’s 21. Holding penalties against the Bruins on 1st and 2nd downs helped prevent another big strike and forced a 3rd & 18, which Berger ran for 13 yards to set up a short FG try (after they attempted to draw MSU offsides – which I was certain was going to happen). MSU used all three timeouts on that Bruin possession. The 34-yard kick hit the upright and bounced away, keeping it a 17-point game.
MSU took over with 1:19 remaining in the half. 11-yard toss to Brandon Tullis over the middle for a 1st down. Incompletion, throw-away, incompletion… punt. MSU had the ball for 26 seconds.
UCLA took over with 43 seconds and the ball at their 35 and 2 timeouts. They ran one play, a short rush, and allowed the clock to run out. They took a 17-point lead to the locker rooms.
3rd Quarter
Michigan State started the 2nd half and actually managed to get across the 50. But then on a Chiles run, the QB got hit in the helmet and needed help getting back up. Targeting should have been called. So Chiles was taken out and Alessio Milivojevic came in. The backup took a couple shots for Nick Marsh, but both were defended well and fell incomplete, and MSU turned it over on downs.
After getting the ball, UCLA took the ball down the field and scored on a 12-play, 62-yard drive. 31-7 UCLA.
MSU had another turnover on downs after that as Milivojevic remained in the game. On 4th & 1, MSU lost a yard on a Frazier run.
UCLA needed 5 plays to go the 33 yards for another TD. 38-7 UCLA.
Trailing by a mere 31 points, and with Alessio still under center, MSU finally figured out how to string some plays together. The drive continued into the final quarter.
4th Quarter
For the 4th time on this drive, Milivojevic completed a pass to Marsh, the last one which Marsh ran into the endzone. MSU missed the extra point. 38-13 UCLA.
For the first time since the first drive of the game, the Bruins were forced to punt.
MSU got the ball with just over 7 minutes remaining. They were able to get past midfield but not much further, and they stalled on another 4th down failure, making them 0-4 on the day.
UCLA took over at around the 4-minute mark. From there, they ran the ball on every play, mercifully running out the clock on this awful day of Spartan football.
The final score was 38-13 for the Bruins. At one point, the visitors scored 38 in a row, and it would have been 41 if they had not hit the post on a FG try, maybe more if they were not content to let the clock run out on the 1st half.
There will be no player of the game article on Monday. Start getting ready for more coverage of MSU’s hockey and basketball (mens and womens) teams. I rescind everything I said in my article earlier in the week about the likelihood of MSU winning some of their remaining contests. At this point, 3-9 seems likely.
