Ty Dieffenbach leads No. 12 UCLA past Wisconsin to stay unbeaten

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) Backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach was 22 of 33 for 264 yards in his first start as a Bruin, Wayne Knight and Anthony Woods each ran for touchdowns, and No. 12 UCLA Bruins beat Wisconsin Badgers 17-7 on Saturday night to improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2022.

Bob Chesney is the first UCLA coach to begin his tenure with that many wins. The Bruins (4-0 Big Ten) were without starting QB Nico Iamaleava, who injured his leg last week at Oregon.

“That's the most important thing is that I believe in these guys,” Chesney said.

Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1) closed to 10-7 on quarterback Colton Joseph's 3-yard TD run in the third quarter, when the Badgers dominated after being held scoreless in the first half.

Joseph finished 6 of 16 for 66 yards passing. He was the Badgers' leading rusher with 18 carries for 71 yards.

Wisconsin had 10 penalties - including four on its second drive of the game - for 102 yards.

“There’s no way we can go on the road and have as many penalties and play as undisciplined as we did,” Badgers coach Luke Fickell said. “We didn’t have the consistency to do the little things well and it showed up.”

The Badgers took two big hits in the fourth. Safety Matt Jung was ejected for targeting on UCLA's drive when the Bruins extended the lead to 17-7 on Woods' 3-yard TD run that survived a review after he appeared to bobble the ball.

On Wisconsin's next possession, Darrion Dupree ran 2 yards to the UCLA 46 for an apparent first down. But the ruling on the field was overturned when he was found to be just behind the first down line after Sammy Omosigho's stop, giving UCLA the ball with 8:43 remaining.

Both teams were coming off bye weeks. They met for the first time since the Bruins joined the Big Ten before the 2024 season.

Dieffenbach started well in place of Iamaleava, completing 6 of 8 to five different receivers on the Bruins' opening drive. Their 16 plays and 8:42 possession time were season highs as Mateen Bhaghani kicked a 24-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

“Before the game, I was just saying like, it’s another game, not making the moment too big,” said Dieffenbach, who spent two seasons at Pitt before transferring to FBS school Cal Poly and finally UCLA. “We left some out there tonight, a couple throws I want back, a couple reads I want back.”

The Bruins had 264 net yards passing to just 66 for the Badgers.

“Ty, what a job,” Chesney said. “To stand in there and have the confidence to do what he did. What a warrior just all the way around.”

The Bruins extended the lead to 10-0 on Knight's 1-yard TD in the second quarter, giving him rushing scores in all six games this season.

Wisconsin's Gavin Lahm missed his first field goal of the season, a 46-yarder that went wide right and left the Badgers trailing 10-0 at halftime.

Wisconsin's offense sputtered in the first half, when the Badgers were just 1 for 6 on third down and only had the ball for about 11 1/2 minutes compared to 18 1/2 for the Bruins.

Wisconsin: The Badgers had won three of their previous five against ranked opponents. Like UCLA, they're having a resurgent season, with a road win over then-No. 13 Penn State. They came into Pasadena having won three in a row against the Bruins, including victories in the Rose Bowl game to cap the 1993 and 1998 seasons.

UCLA: The Bruins are the only undefeated team remaining in the Big Ten or SEC. They'll surely move into the top 10 after four teams ranked that high lost Saturday. It's quite the turnaround after winning just three games last season. They have a favorable schedule coming up, too, with Michigan State, Nevada, Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan on tap before facing crosstown rival USC to close the regular season.

Wisconsin hosts No. 19 USC next Saturday.

UCLA hosts Michigan State next Saturday in the middle of three straight home games.

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