The No. 12 UCLA Bruins defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 17-7 at the Rose Bowl Stadium on Saturday to remain undefeated as they move to a 6-0 overall record.
The Bruins have ascended into the top ranks of the college football talk as they found a way to pull out a win against Wisconsin with backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach and their stingy defense. Here were five takeaways from UCLA's homestand win against the Wisconsin Badgers.
Was a star on the bench?
Dieffenbach started his first game for the Bruins after taking over for UCLA's starting signal caller Nico Iamaleava and Dieffenbach didn't miss a beat. UCLA's new quarterback completed 22-of-33 passes for 264 passing yards and an interception on a hail mary play that was thrown to end the first half. Dieffenbach looked
composed and accurate as he was able to dice up the Badgers defense, especially on a 97-yard drive to put UCLA up by 10 points in the fourth.
Defense continues to suffocate opponents
The Bruins defense has continued to remain fearsome, as they stumped Wisconsin's offense and held them scoreless in the first half. The Badgers senior quarterback Colton Joseph was held to less than 100 passing yards, but most of Wisconsin's offensive success came from their signal caller on the ground. The one-man show wasn't enough to hurt the Bruins defense though as they held them to just 214 total yards on the day and kept their offense mostly stagnant.
Run game hit a wall
UCLA's usually terrific run-game came had it's worse outing of the season with just 120 rushing yards and none of their running backs gaining over 40 yards on the ground. Out of their three-headed rushing attack, senior running back Anthony Woods led the trio with 39 yards and a touchdown on eight attempts. Senior Jaivian Thomas was next with 37-rushing yards on nine attempts and Wayne Knight had just 23 yards on the ground and a touchdown on 13-attempts. It was obviously an emphasis for the Badgers defense, but UCLA will need to get back in the lab to ensure their production gets back to normal for future contests.
Third down? No problem
The Bruins weren't intimidated by third downs and moved the chains 13 of their 20 attempts to keep the offense on the field. Dieffenbach was a big factor in that with deep throws and a snap count that forced an aggressive Badgers defense line to jump offsides. The third down conversions allowed the Bruins to control the time of possession as they held the ball for over 37 minutes. If the Bruins offense under Dieffenbach continues to be this effective on the money down, then UCLA's offense could take another leap in their future outings.
Penalties everywhere
The referees had their hands all over the game with the penalty flags being thrown all over the field. Both teams ended up with an egregious amount of penalties with Wisconsin being called for 10 penalties for 110 yard and UCLA being called for eight-penalties for 78 yards. The amount of penalties the Bruins have racked up over their first six-games haven't hurt them so far, but they need to be cleaned up. This team appears to be one of the best in the country this season and if they want a chance at a Big Ten title or more, then they will need to clean up their game to keep their hopes out of the hands of the referees.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Five takeaways UCLA's win against Wisconsin to remain undefeated
