Was it a fluke or fundamental change?
A week after its monumental upset of Penn State, UCLA could get some answers about the trajectory of its season.
A road game against an opponent with plenty of its own urgency should tell the Bruins whether they’re on the road to redemption or merely picking up speed on a route to nowhere.
Advertisement
Michigan State (3-2 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) needs a win as badly as UCLA (1-4, 1-1) given that it’s staring up in the conference standings at a team that lost its first four games of the season.
Read more: ‘Do not be a one-hit wonder.’ UCLA seeks more wins after massive upset of Penn State
Spartans coach Jonathan Smith, the Pasadena native and Glendora High graduate whose name has been among those linked to UCLA’s vacancy, might need to win this game just to help secure his future with his current team after compiling an 8-9 record almost midway through his second season.
Meanwhile, the stock of UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper and offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel — let’s dispense with the official yet insulting playcaller title, please — could reach new heights with a second consecutive victory.
Advertisement
Skipper equated Neuheisel’s success in his playcalling debut to giving players answers before a test, which was all the more impressive considering that Neuheisel had just a couple of days to install his new scheme after replacing departed offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri.
What might UCLA’s offense look like with a full week of prep work? Here are five things to watch when the Bruins face the Spartans at Spartan Stadium at 9 a.m. PDT in a game televised by Big Ten Network:
A rivalry renewed
Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles looks to pass during a game against Nebraska on Oct. 4 in Lincoln, Neb. (Bonnie Ryan / Associated Press)
This will be the resumption of a rivalry for the starting quarterbacks.
In 2022, UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava and Michigan State counterpart Aidan Chiles faced each other as part of a battle to become the best high school team in Downey, with Iamaleava emerging victorious.
Advertisement
Shaking off a minor injury before halftime, Iamaleava threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns to help Warren beat Downey 49-22 on the way to winning a Gateway League title. Chiles threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns while adding 115 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground.
The quarterbacks’ running ability could present the biggest challenge for the opposing defenses Saturday given they are both extremely elusive and able to escape pressure. Iamaleava is the Bruins’ leading rusher, his average of 66.4 yards per game on the ground nearly twice that of top running back Anthony Woods (38).
Chiles is averaging 35.4 yards rushing per game and has run for four touchdowns.
“Nothing’s more disheartening than when it’s third-and-15 and then the quarterback takes off for 50 yards,” UCLA edge rusher Jacob Busic said. “But we’re going to have that challenge with Michigan State. [Chiles is] an athlete, he can run. So we got to keep him contained.”
Advertisement
Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!
UCLA offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel is lifted and carried off the sideline by players after a win over Penn State at the Rose Bowl Saturday. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)
What might have sounded like a playful reference to the signature chant of “The Jerry Springer Show” when fans used the same cadence during UCLA’s opening drive last week turned into something far more heartfelt by game’s end.
Neuheisel’s ability to turn a struggling offense into a masterpiece so quickly based on simplifying plans and better explaining them prompted his players to hoist him into the air after the Bruins completed their 42-37 victory over Penn State.
Read more: UCLA Unlocked: It’s a great day to be part of the Jerry Neuheisel family
For the assistant coach and his players, it wasn’t so much an arrival as a first step.
Advertisement
“Coach Jerry talked about it,” center Sam Yoon told reporters of the unexpected triumph. “That was a moment. We want to turn that moment into momentum.”
Paving the way
UCLA offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel calls a play from the sidelines against Penn State on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Given more time to prepare for Michigan State, Yoon said it’s been easier to go through the game plan and break it into smaller segments to digest.
After getting manhandled by two opponents from the Mountain West Conference, UCLA’s offensive line largely held up against a Penn State defense that was supposed to be the Nittany Lions’ strength.
The Bruins rushed for a season-high 269 yards. Nico Iamaleava took those back-to-back sacks in the third quarter but was otherwise mostly operating with a clean pocket.
Advertisement
Yoon said the offensive linemen benefited as much from the offensive changes as the skill position players.
“We were a little bit lost there,” Yoon said, “and then the coaches were working tirelessly to get a great game plan in place and just believed in ourselves.”
Stock report
UCLA coach Tim Skipper cheers on his team during a win over Penn State at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
One of the most fascinating story lines to watch in the coming weeks will be the fortunes of the coaches involved in this game.
Skipper’s stock has been shooting up after delivering a top-10 victory to a previously winless team. Has he put any thought into getting into the running for the permanent head coaching job?
“I will be honest with you, I haven’t thought about that one ounce,” Skipper said. “So much stuff I have to do here. I mean, to think about the future, I’m not that guy. I’m not a dwell on the past, or dream about the future, kind of guy. I’m just, like, wherever are my feet and that’s where I’m going to be.”
Advertisement
Read more: ‘He’s been an underdog his whole life’: Meet UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper
Neuheisel could be widely coveted as an offensive coordinator after getting a group of players who had averaged 14 points to triple that number against one of the Big Ten’s better defenses.
Meanwhile, Smith’s stock has entered a bear market after back-to-back losses to open conference play. Credited for making Oregon State competitive in the Pac-12 despite limited resources, Smith needs to show he can do something similar with the Spartans. Losing to UCLA won’t exactly make his name one that Bruins fans want to hear when the school’s selection committee announces its coach.
Wake-up call
UCLA receiver Kwazi Gilmer (3) celebrates with receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala (2) after scoring against Penn State at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
While kickoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. PDT, Skipper noted that the game’s location in East Lansing will make it really only a half hour earlier than UCLA’s 12:30 p.m. kickoff against the Nittany Lions in Pasadena.
Advertisement
To better prepare its body clocks, UCLA flew into the Eastern Time Zone on Thursday and implemented other measures.
“Coach does kind of waking up a little bit earlier, our check-in is a little bit earlier,” UCLA wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala told reporters earlier this week. “He tries to make sure that we have meetings, and when we get to the field it’s kind of similar to the same time” as game time.
Sign up for UCLA Unlocked for big game takeaways, recruiting buzz and more UCLA sports insights.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
