Bruins mash Maryland in 51-point blowout while Chesney makes history

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - If there was any doubt that Bob Chesney's UCLA Bruins were here to stay, that was firmly dispelled Saturday by their 54-3 blowout of the Maryland Terrapins. 

54 points is the most scored in a UCLA game sine a Sep. 16, 2023 win over North Carolina Central and with that massive margin marks the second-straight game where UCLA has scored 50 points or more. 

The first quarter was dominated by defense on all sides and ended scoreless, but from there on out there was nothing but Bruin Blue and Gold in the end zone from there on out.

Senior running back Wayne Knight led the way once again with rushing 100 yards on 10 carries and 35 receiving yards on three receptions. He started the offensive onslaught with one rushing touchdown early in the second quarter, making it four-straight games with a score for the standout senior, on a 45-yard run that set tone for what was to come.

Backfield Blowout

While that was the only touchdown from Knight in the game, the rest of the running back room was just as involved. 

Anthony Woods Jaivian Thomas both followed suit in the second and Troy Leigber got on the board himself with a 63-yard rush late in the fourth quarter to out an exclamation point on the most complete game of the season for the Bruins. 

Senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava didn't need to do much on the passing side of things considering how dominant his backfield is, but he still finished with a solid day himself. 

Iamaleava passed 15-24 for 209 yards and tossed one touchdown, an 83-yard reception to senior wide receiver Aidan Mizell with 11:35 left in the fourth quarter. 

His patented athleticism in the backfield made things difficult for the Terrapin defense, but it wasn't just UCLA's offense that put on a show. 

Defensive Dominance

Senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho led the way with seven tackles for loss, but the secondary truly led the way for the Bruins.

UCLA picked off Maryland four separate times, each by a different Bruin, and two of those interceptions turned into trips to the house. 

Senior defensive back Ta'Shawn James did it first with a an interception with 11:20 left in the third quarter that he ran back 39 yards for a touchdown. 

But a little over three minutes later, senior defensive back just had to one-up his teammate James by picking off Maryland sophomore quarterback Malik Washington and running that back 65 yards. 

All Maryland mustered on their side of the scoresheet was one field goal less than two minutes before halftime, but senior Mateen Bhaghani answered with two field goals of his own in one of the most dominant displays of Bruins football in recent memory. 

UCLA will head into a bye-week having started the season 4-0 for the first time since 2014 and Chesney became the first UCLA head coach to start their debut season 4-0 since 1949.