Unbeaten No. 7 UCLA hosts Nevada with an 8-0 start in sight

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — No. 7 UCLA is playing with a target on its back. As one of just three unbeaten teams in the nation, the surprising Bruins know every next opponent would love to knock them off.

That's why first-year coach Bob Chesney is emphasizing the little things, as mundane as some may be.

“We just have a standard we are trying to achieve every single day,” he said. “It's got to be about details. We can't slip on any of those details.”

The Bruins (7-0) get a break from Big Ten play when they host Nevada (3-4) at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

Chesney needs one more win to tie the largest single-season turnaround for a first-year Bruins coach in program history. William H. Spaulding engineered a five-win improvement over the 1924 and 1925 seasons.

The highest-ranked opponent the Wolf Pack ever faced was No. 2 Penn State last year. They got thrashed 46-11 at Happy Valley.

This Nevada team has lost four of six, but coach Jeff Choate is reminding his players not to make the challenge bigger than it seemingly is. The Bruins are 22 1/2-point favorites.

“Everybody gets up and puts their pants on the same way. What usually happens is you realize that, yeah, maybe there is a separation but that separation isn’t quite what I thought it was,” Choate said. “We just go play really hard and leave a good account of ourselves, hold onto the football, not give them momentum.”

UCLA is looking for its first 8-0 start since 2005. Chesney already is the first Bruins coach to begin his tenure with a 7-0 mark.

UCLA running back Wayne Knight has scored a rushing touchdown in all seven games, the longest such streak since Joshua Kelley in 2018.

The James Madison transfer has piled up 627 rushing yards and 12 scores on the ground. Anthony Woods has 459 yards and six TDs as part of the ninth-best ground attack in the Football Subdivision. The Bruins lead the Big Ten with 233 rushing yards per game.

“Watch their guys play,” Choate said. "They play really hard, they’re very disciplined, they don’t make mistakes and they don’t beat themselves. They got good vibes right there in LA right now."

Choate’s anticipation of a sunny day in California appears unlikely. The Halloween forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with a 75% chance of rain.

“We’ll deal with rain,” he said. “We won’t melt.”

Both teams will be without their starting quarterbacks.

Nevada sophomore Carter Jones has been bothered by recurring arm and elbow injuries and will be sidelined for the second straight week.

UCLA's Nico Iamaleava is out for the season with a knee injury. Senior Ty Dieffenbach will make his third consecutive start , having won his last two games. He's completed 43 of 70 passes for 505 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in three games.

“He’s starting to understand the command piece,” UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy said. “You watch him at practice, he’s walking around like he is the king, which he is. That’s how you got to do it at the quarterback position. His confidence bleeds into other people.”

UCLA could see a familiar face running Nevada’s offense.

Former Bruins transfer Luke Duncan made his second start of the season last week in a 28-13 win over San Jose State. The junior completed 18 of 29 passes for 178 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.

Duncan left Westwood in December after spending last season as backup to Iamaleava.

Duncan made his first collegiate start against then-No. 1 Ohio State in a 48-10 rout last November. He was 16 of 23 for 154 yards passing and the Bruins’ lone touchdown.

“He wouldn't have been recruited here if he wasn't a good player,” Bruins defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler said. "If it's him, we got to do a really good job of playing different coverages and making him react post-snap.”

The Wolf Pack's other option is fifth-year senior AJ Bianco. He's seen spot duty when not hampered by a sprained ankle.

It’s just the second time the two schools are playing each other.

UCLA beat Nevada 58-20 to open the 2013 season behind the Bruins’ then-quarterback, Brett Hundley. He threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 63 yards and two more scores. He’ll be working Saturday’s game as analyst for the B1G Network.

The Wolf Pack trailed 17-13 at halftime before the Bruins scored 20 points in the third quarter, helped by a blocked punt returned for a TD.

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