San Diego State Aztecs at UCLA Bruins

Wayne Knight scores 3 TDs as UCLA beats San Diego State 28-10

Knight scored on runs of 8 yards in the third and 7 and 36 yards in the fourth, the James Madison transfer's second straight game with three TDs. He had that many in a season-opening win at California last week.

“When the light shines on you," Knight said, "it’s your time to make that play.”

Knight scored for the second time after Josh Hunter's face-mask penalty at the Aztecs 7-yard line resulted in an automatic first down.

Jalvian Thomas added a 1-yard TD in between Knight's two fourth-quarter scores for the Bruins (2-0).

The Bruins didn't give up a touchdown until the game's final 2:28 when Jackson Ford caught a 19-yard pass from Jayden Denegal.

The Aztecs (1-1) first got on the board with a 46-yard field goal by Cooper Dileva to trail 7-3 in the fourth.

Coming off the 45-24 road win over Cal, UCLA fans came out to the Rose Bowl in greater numbers than last season to check out the buzz generated by Chesney's hire from James Madison.

But what they got in the first half was nothing.

The teams combined for 98 points in winning their respective openers, but neither could get untracked after exchanging punts in the opening quarter.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty and we need one of those,” Chesney said. “I loved the resolve that we had and I liked the energy we came back out with in the second half.”

The biggest play of the first half was Nico Iamaleava's 45-yard pass to Brian Rowe Jr. for a first down in the second quarter. The Bruins eventually got the ball to the 2-yard line on the drive, but Iamaleava was intercepted in the end zone by Mike Lindsay after underthrowing to a wide-open Brayden Loftin.

“In the second half, we tried to stay consistent with the same things, but we just let some things go that we were unprepared for,” Aztecs right guard Michael Leville Watkins said. “I think we had some left in our tank and didn’t really show what we could do in the third and fourth quarter.”

Nico's numbers Iamaleava netted 57 rushing yards on 13 attempts for his sixth career game with at least 50 yards rushing. In the air, the quarterback was 14 of 22 for 151 yards and one interception.

Pre-game history lesson Chesney showed the Bruins a video of some of the greatest moments in the 103-year history of the Rose Bowl stadium earlier in the day.

“I wanted them to have a full understanding before we walked in here,” he said.

The announced attendance was 31,973 in the 89,702-seat stadium, slightly better than the 27,785 who showed up for last season's home opener against Utah. UCLA students begin fall classes Sept. 24.

“It’s going to continue to grow," Knight said. "By the end of the year, we’ll have that thing packed up.”

Running the ball UCLA finished with over 200 rushing yards, giving the team back-to-back 200-plus yard rushing performances to start the season after doing so just once last year.

The takeaway San Diego St.: The Aztecs proved pesky for much of the game, but had only two plays past the 50-yard line until late in the second half.

UCLA: The Bruins are 2-0 for the first time since 2023. Chesney has won 12 consecutive regular-season games dating back to last season at James Madison.

Up next San Diego State hosts James Madison next Saturday.

UCLA hosts Purdue next Saturday.

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