At a perfect 8-0, No. 7 UCLA is slowly starting to earn some more believers

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — The UCLA defense finished what it started Saturday by opening the afternoon with an interception and ending it with one, too.

No. 7 UCLA (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) had three interceptions on the first three drives of the game, added an early touchdown on a pick six and delivered the team's first home shutout in 19 years with a 27-0 victory over Nevada .

With four more interceptions, UCLA now has 16 on the season, one year after they had four. They entered Saturday’s game leading the nation with 10 fumble recoveries.

Not since 2005 has UCLA won its first eight games of a season and yet in the bowels of the Rose Bowl afterward, nobody was ready to say the Bruins have it all figured out.

“After every win you feel like there is so much work left to be done,” coach Bob Chesney said. “I don’t think you ever walk out of a game, regardless of what it is and be like, ‘Man, we’ve arrived. We’ve made it.’ Probably not one guy on this team feels that way. Not one coach feels that way.”

Chesney could have added the fan base as another group intent on seeing more. Another spotty crowd was on hand to watch the team’s short break from its Big Ten schedule.

Perhaps one more victory will earn more believers. Next week, UCLA travels to Minneapolis to face Minnesota, which stands at a modest 5-3 but delivered home victories over Michigan and then-No. 15 Iowa in October.

On Saturday, the Golden Gophers nearly pulled off a victory at No. 4 Indiana, before falling 23-16 in overtime .

While inside linebacker Sammy Omosigho has led the charge for the Bruins’ defense, he was able to draw plenty of attention from Nevada’s defense. That allowed defensive end Sahir West to deliver nine tackles with 1.5 sacks, linebacker Trent Hendrick to record eight tackles and defensive lineman Aiden Gobaira to finish with seven tackles and 1.5 sacks.

“I mean, that should be our standard,” Gobaira said. “We’re always going to play physical, fast and make as many plays as we can in the defense, within our scheme. We’re not looking to search for a certain play but making plays that come to us.”

The defensive line rattled Nevada quarterback Luke Duncan for three interceptions in three drives before he was replaced. Derrick Barksdale turned the third interception of the day into a 26-yard touchdown before the midway point of the first quarter.

“It’s a blessing to have a lot of cover guys back in the secondary,” Barksdale said. “We all work hard. We all teach each other well. If we see something in each other’s technique, we’re quick to help each other on it.”

UCLA finally put the shutout away when Ty Lee intercepted Reve Slone, the third of three Wolf Pack quarterbacks, with 53 seconds remaining.

And yet with a strength of schedule that has also come into question, UCLA knows there is more work left to be done.

“These next four games are going to be very physical and what we put out there at moments isn’t going to work,” Chesney said. “So we understand that and we’ll be right back at the drawing board.”

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