Wayne Knight scored three second-half touchdowns as UCLA beat San Diego State 28-10 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 12. The win pushed the Bruins to 2-0 under first-year head coach Bob Chesney.

Knight, a fifth-year tailback who followed Chesney from James Madison, rushed for 97 yards on 13 carries with scoring runs of 8, 7 and 36 yards. His six rushing touchdowns through two games lead the Big Ten. Only Zach Charbonnet in 2022 and DeShaun Foster in 2001 matched that two-game total at UCLA, the Los Angeles Times reported.

That six-touchdown haul already tops the entire UCLA team's rushing touchdown total from its 3-9 2025 season.

The Bruins trailed 0-0 at halftime before erupting for all 28 points after the break. It was the second straight week UCLA posted a 21-point fourth quarter, following a 45-24 win at Cal on Sept. 5. Through two games, the Bruins have outscored opponents 42-10 in the fourth quarter, according to the LA Times' game recap.

"It wasn't pretty, but it was gritty," Chesney told reporters after the game, as quoted in the Times on Sept. 13.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 14 of 22 passes for 151 yards with one interception and added 57 rushing yards. His costliest mistake came in the second quarter when he threw off his back foot toward tight end Harry Lodge in the end zone and was picked off by SDSU cornerback Mike Lindsay.

Michigan transfer Semaj Morgan filled in with starting wideouts Mikey Matthews and Landon Ellis sidelined. He caught six passes for 73 yards and set up UCLA's first touchdown with a 25-yard punt return. Chesney praised Morgan after the game, telling the LA Times the receiver "deserves a ton of credit" for making plays "in tight, contested areas."

The defense smothered SDSU.

Linebacker Jalen Woods recorded nine tackles, a sack and his first career interception. Woods picked off SDSU quarterback Jayden Denegal in the fourth quarter, setting up Jaivian Thomas's 1-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead to 21-3. The Bruins held SDSU to 189 total yards, including just 45 passing yards on 6 of 17 completions from Denegal.

An announced crowd of 31,973 attended the home opener, up from 27,785 at last season's opener against Utah in the 89,702-seat stadium. UCLA CEO of Athletics Tim Harris and the Champion of Westwood NIL collective each purchased 300 tickets to distribute to fans.

The Bruins are 2-0 for the first time since 2023, per ESPN. UCLA's ground game is averaging 245.5 rushing yards per game, second in the Big Ten, and the team leads the conference with ten rushing touchdowns.

Next up: UCLA hosts Purdue at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m. PT on the Big Ten Network. It will be the Bruins' first Big Ten game of the season.

Purdue enters at 1-1 after a 38-36 double-overtime loss to Wake Forest on Sept. 12. The Boilermakers have lost 20 consecutive games against Power Four opponents, according to SI.com. UCLA holds a 3-0-2 all-time record in the series, with the last meeting a 23-14 Bruins win on Sept. 20, 1980.