POSTGAME NOTES
UCLA 54, Maryland 3
College Park, Md. (SECU Stadium)
September 26, 2026

Records: UCLA (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten), Maryland (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten)
Up Next: UCLA at No. 20 Oregon – Autzen Stadium (Eugene, Ore.). – Oct. 10, 2026

TEAM NOTES

• The Bruins’ 51-point margin of victory was the program’s largest ever in a Big Ten game, and the largest overall against a conference opponent since defeating Arizona by a margin of 66-10 on Nov. 3, 2012.
• More specifically, UCLA’s 51-point margin of victory was its largest in a conference road game since blanking Washington State 55-0 in 1955.
• UCLA’s three points allowed are its fewest since blanking Oregon State, 41-0, on Nov. 7, 2015.
• The Bruins are off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2022. It also marks UCLA’s first four-game winning streak since the 2022 campaign.
• Bob Chesney is the first UCLA head coach to start his tenure 4-0 since Red Sanders in 1949.
• UCLA had an 80-yard TD pass and a 60-yard TD run in the same game for the first time in program history
• The Bruins recorded five takeaways for the first time since Sept. 21, 2019 at Washington State (UCLA had four fumble recoveries and two interceptions in a 67-63 shootout win over the Cougars).
• Paired with last week’s 52-38 home win over Purdue, UCLA has scored 50+ points in back-to-back games for the first time since 1993. It’s the first time the Bruins have notched 50+ points in back-to-back conference games since 1973.
• UCLA had four rushing touchdowns on Saturday, giving the team 4+ scores on the ground in each of its first four games of 2026. The last time the program had a four-game streak with 4+ rushing touchdowns was 1976, when UCLA had a program-record streak of six games from Oct. 9 through Nov. 13, 1976.
• This marks the fourth time in program history that UCLA has managed to put together a four-game streak with 4+ rushing TDs (it also happened twice during the 1973 campaign).
• The Bruins have totaled 18 rushing touchdowns through their first four games. That is the second-most in program history, trailing only the 1973 squad which compiled a school-record 19 rushing TDs through their first four games. That 1973 Bruin team went on to score 56 rushing touchdowns, which is a school record by a wide margin (the second-place 1976 squad ran for 42 TDs).
• UCLA has a quartet of games with 4+ rushing touchdowns to start 2026. Dating back to 1995, UCLA has had four separate games with 4+ rush TDs in an entire season just three times (1996, 2012, 2013).
• Four different Bruin backs recorded a rushing touchdown. That marked the first time that had happened against an FBS opponent since Nov. 5 at Arizona State (TDs scored by Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Keegan Jones, Kazmeir Allen, Colson Yankoff).
• More specifically, UCLA had four separate running backs score a rushing touchdown against Maryland. That’s a first for the program against an FBS opponent since Nov. 3, 2012 vs. Arizona (TDs scored by Johnathan Franklin, Melvin Emesibe, Damien Thigpen, and Steven Manfro).
• This is the seventh time since 2000 that the Bruins have opened a season 4-0 (2001, 2005, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2026).
• UCLA has outscored its opponents 76-17 in the fourth quarter through the first four games of the season.
• Coach Chesney has now won 14 consecutive regular season games dating back to 2025.
• UCLA had a pair of interception returns for touchdowns. It was the Bruins’ first game with multiple pick-sixes since Aug. 30, 2014 vs. Virginia. It was the seventh time in program history that UCLA recorded multiple interception returns for TDs.
• The Bruins had four interceptions overall, a first for the program since grabbing six at Utah on Oct. 3, 2013.
• The Bruins have now recorded an interception in four straight games, a first for the program since Oct. 19 to Nov. 15, 2024 (Rutgers-Nebraska-Iowa-Washington). 
• UCLA’s seven interceptions on the year have already surpassed the team’s 2025 season total (four).
• UCLA scored 20 points in the second quarter. It was the team’s fourth straight game with a 20-point quarter. The last time UCLA had four games with a 20-point quarter was the 2021 season (six games).
• The Bruins scored on a 83-yard catch-and-run by Aidan Mizell in the fourth quarter. It was the squad’s longest TD pass since a 94-yard Dorian Thompson-Robinson to Demetric Felton connection at Washington State on Sept. 21, 2019.
• UCLA improved to 3-1 all-time against Maryland, recording its first-ever win in College Park (previously 0-1).

PLAYER NOTES

• • DB Mason Rivera had an interception, the third of his career and his first as a Bruin
  • RB Wayne Knight scored a 45-yard rushing touchdown to open the scoring on Saturday. It’s his fourth straight game with a rushing TD, the longest streak of his career.
  • He’s the first Bruin with a rushing TD in four straight games since Zach Charbonnet in 2022.
  • Knight’s nine rushing TDs are most in a single season by a Bruin since Charbonnet in 2022 (14).
  • Knight finished with 100 rushing yards (on 10 carries) and 153 all-purpose yards. It was his seventh game with 100+ rushing yards, and 15th with 100+ all-purpose yards. 
  • DB Ta’Shawn James recorded a pick-six in the third quarter. It was his third-career interception, all occuring this season, and first-career pick-six.
  • James is the first UCLA player with three interceptions in a single season since Alex Johnson in 2023.
  • The pick-six was the first by any Bruin since Kain Medrano had one against Nebraska on Nov. 2, 2024.
  • DB Scooter Jackson also had a pick-six in the third quarter. It was his fourth-career interception, and third as a Bruin. It marked his first-career pick-six.
  • QB Nico Iamaleava and WR Aidan Mizell linked up for an 83-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. It was a career-long reception for Mizell. It was also Iamaleava’s longest completion as a Bruin, and the second-longest of his career (86 yards).
  • LB Trent Hendrick recorded an interception in the fourth quarter. It was the first pick of his career.
  • RB Troy Leigber rushed for a 63-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. It shattered his previous career-long rush of 15 yards, and is the longest run by a Bruin since Kazmeir Allen had a 75-yard rush against ASU in 2022.
  • RB Dylan Lee and WR Kenneth Moore III made their first appearances as Bruins.