PASADENA, CALIF. - The No. 7 UCLA football team remained unbeaten with an 8-0 record after a 27-0 shutout victory on Oct. 31 over Nevada (3-5) at Rose Bowl Stadium.
The Bruins held Nevada to 176 total yards while recording their first shutout since blanking Oregon State 41-0 on the road on Nov. 7, 2015. It was also UCLA's first home shutout since beating No. 9 Oregon 16-0 on Nov. 24, 2007.
UCLA set the tone early defensively, intercepting the ball on Nevada's first three drives, leading to a 10-0 first quarter lead. The Bruins had four total interceptions in the game, with Ty Lee grabbing the fourth for the Bruins with 53 seconds remaining in the game.
Bruin quarterback Ty Dieffenbach was 16-for-30 for 178 yards and had one passing and one rushing touchdown. Defensive lineman Sahir West led UCLA with nine tackles and had 1.5 sacks. Aiden Gobaira also recorded 1.5 sacks and led all players with three tackles for loss.
The Bruins forced a turnover on the very first play from scrimmage. Scooter Jackson picked off former teammate Luke Duncan at the Nevada 30, leading to a 26-yard field goal by Mateen Bhaghani. On Nevada's next drive, the Wolf Pack got down to the UCLA 18 before Jalen Woods snagged a tipped pass for another interception. After the Nevada defense forced UCLA into a punt after the interception, the offense turned it over again, this time with a pick-six by Derrick Barksdale, who returned the interception 26 yards to give UCLA a 10-0 lead with 7:34 to go in the first.
UCLA scored its first offensive touchdown of the game at the end of the second quarter when quarterback Ty Dieffenbach led the Bruins on a 10-play, 71-yard drive. The four-yard Dieffenbach touchdown run increased UCLA's lead to 17-0 with 1:20 left in the half and took the Bruins into halftime with their third first-half shutout of the year. The Bruin defense held the Wolf Pack to 94 first-half yards, marking the fifth time in eight games that UCLA has held opponents to under 100 yards of first-half offense.
The second half was more of the same, with Wayne Knight scoring the first touchdown of the half with 7:42 to go in the third quarter, a 12-yard reception that put UCLA up 24-0. The Wolf Pack drove down to the UCLA 30 on the next drive but fell short on a 48-yard field goal. A fourth-quarter 38-yard field goal by Bhaghani added to the Bruin lead.
UCLA will next play at Minnesota on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 9 a.m. PT (11 a.m. CT local time). The game will be broadcast on FOX as part of Big Noon Kickoff.