Anthony Woods and Wayne Knight each scored a goal-line touchdown, and No. 12 UCLA bottled up Wisconsin to remain unbeaten with a 17-7 victory Saturday in Pasadena, Calif.
The Bruins (6-0, 4-0 Big Ten Conference) scored on drives of 84, 91 and 89 yards, with quarterback Ty Dieffenbach leading the offense.
Dieffenbach, who finished UCLA’s Oct. 10 win at Oregon, made his first career start in place of the injured Nico Iamaleava. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 264 yards and one interception, spreading the ball among eight receivers.
Semaj Morgan led the Bruins with five receptions for 84 yards.
Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1) forced UCLA to rely more heavily on the passing game, focusing on limiting a Bruins rushing attack that ranked sixth nationally at 253.2 yards per game entering Saturday’s contest.
The Badgers held UCLA to 120 yards on 37 carries and focused on containing Knight, who had been a standout through the Bruins’ first five games. Knight managed just 23 yards on 13 carries.
Knight did record his 12th rushing touchdown of the season, however, capping UCLA’s 91-yard drive in the second quarter. Dieffenbach set up the score with a 21-yard completion to Jalen Saint-Paul that put the Bruins near the goal line.
UCLA’s 10-point halftime lead was trimmed to three in the third quarter when Colton Joseph scored on a 3-yard touchdown run.
The 44-yard drive was set up when Marvin Burks Jr. intercepted a pass on a UCLA trick play.
The Badgers needed 11 plays to reach the end zone, aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty against UCLA.
The Bruins held Wisconsin to 214 yards of total offense, including 66 passing yards by Joseph, who completed 6 of 16 attempts. The Badgers had possession for less than 23 minutes and converted just three of 11 third-down opportunities.
With the win, UCLA ended the day as the Big Ten’s last remaining undefeated team after Indiana lost 19-14 to Ohio State.
The 6-0 start matches UCLA’s best since 2022.
–Field Level Media
