Postgame Quotes – UCLA 38, Michigan State 13
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 38, Michigan State 13
East Lansing, Mich. (Spartan Stadium)
Oct. 11, 2025
UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper
on not being one-hit-wonders
“Yeah, that was a message starting on Sunday. We preach it every day moving up. We just wanted to see who we really were, that was the whole thing about it. We wanted to come out and play 60 minutes of football, and we did that today. We strained, not being one-hit wonders, all those things, we're putting them all into the games now and that's exciting to see. We'll have to continue that. The future is going to get harder and harder as we keep on going. We'll have a tough matchup on homecoming playing against Maryland. We're going to need all the Bruin fans to be there, that's the start of the message right now. Start thinking about how you're going to get to the Rose Bowl next Saturday.”
on Jalen Berger's performance and returning to MSU
“You know, I kind of really want to talk about the O-Line and the running backs as a whole first. I think all week we preached that we have to win in the trenches. They're a time possession offense, we're trying to be a time possession offense, so that was an inner battle among the two offenses that were going against each other. Berger's been working hard since I've been here and I've been seeing him work. He's a great kid, he doesn't smile and all that all that much, he just goes to work and does his thing. I'm excited for him. It's good for him to have a good game here, I know that was personal for him. I'm just excited for him.”
on the energy of the team
“I'm an energetic guy. I don't like boring, so if I don't feel the juice, then we're going to start the day over. We haven't had to do that or anything, but energy and passion is how you're supposed to play football. That's the way we're going to practice, that's the way we meet, that's the way we play. So, we'll continue to keep that consistent.”
on scoring more points in UCLA's two most recent games
“Please don't jinx us with that. Man, the guys are working. Keep on game planning. We're going to have to keep taking what the defense is giving us, and we're going to get different looks than what you see on film because obviously we have a running quarterback, so teams are going to try to defend you in multiple ways. We're doing a good job in game with seeing how things are going and then adjusting to what we need to do.”
on going into a hostile environment and getting a big win
“Every time you go on the road there's all these built-in excuses that you can use, especially here, right? We went three time zones over, it's an early kickoff, it's their homecoming. There's all these built-in excuses, but at the end of the day, once you tee it up, it's ball on ball. And we just needed to play ball today, we needed to start fast, and we needed to finish, and that's what we did.”
on the defense holding strong
“Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the defense. I felt like in the first half against Penn State, we had a really, really good half. We held them at 92 yards in the first half of that game. We won a turnover battle that way. Today we kind of did the same thing. The same exact score as last week, 242-7. The defense is a huge part of it. I know everybody looks at stats and all that stuff, but to me, we've really changed our fundamentals. How we run with the ball, how we use our hands on the blocks, how we tackle people, how we're attacking the ball and stripping the tips and all that stuff. Our energy and passion has picked up on that side of the ball and I tip my hat to coach Kevin Coyle and the defensive staff, they're doing a great job of just getting the guys better every single day.”
on the difference between the team's first four games and the last two games
“That's a good question. I don't know if I'm the best guy to answer that. Like I told everybody when I first was in this position, we're going to go to training camp and start over, so in my mind I have kind of blocked out everything until I've been sitting in this seat and I see us getting better every single day. That's my whole entire goal. Just get better every single day. That's all I'm really worried about.”
on having fun
“Fun is always good when you're winning. You're going to have a lot of fun when you're winning. We need to continue that, but I'm one of those guys, all the decisions and things are in my head, I'm just locked into each single play. I'll enjoy this for a little while, but as soon as we land back in LA, we're going to get ready for the next one. It's exciting, but when you're in the middle of a season, you need to stay humble and get ready for the next one.”
on his message to the upcoming teams UCLA is playing
“Our message to them? I just hope they watch our film and think that we play good, sound football. We're well-coached and the guys play hard. All I can do is control what we're doing in our area of our locker room and things like that.”
UCLA redshirt senior running back Jalen Berger
on playing his former team and scoring three total touchdowns
“It felt good being back here, but we treat it like any other opponent. They were someone in the way of the mission.”
on how meaningful this win is for the team
“It feels good. We’re running the ball the whole fourth quarter, and their defense was getting tired and didn’t want to tackle. I think in the third quarter, it felt like they didn’t want to play anymore. That fumble at the end is something that I wish I could get back.”
on what they’ve focused on in this two-game run
“We’ve had an emphasis on starting fast. That’s the main thing. Just getting ahead. I think in those first four games we lost, we were never ahead, so just starting fast.”
UCLA redshirt sophomore defensive back Cole Martin
on claims that the team is a “one-hit wonder”
“One hit wonder, that’s something that we focused on this week. We tried to make sure that we go out there prepared as the team that we are. Go out there and do everything that was needed to come out here and perform today.”
on the difference in the defense between the last two games and the first four
“Straining. The biggest thing for us is straining on defense. Getting off the field, knowing the situation, winning the situation, and playing like that.”
on his thought process during the fake punt
“It’s just practice reps. Shoutout to Coach B-Mac (Bailey McElwain). He does a great job of preparing us the right way, so when we go out there, it’s regular execution. We go out there, go through our checklist, and perform the play. Just working to perfection.”
on the best part of their recent success
“The best part is really just the togetherness we have in the locker room. We came together, we’ve never altered, and we’ve always stayed together. That was the best part for me. Just knowing that whatever we go through, we’re going to have each other at the end of the day.”
UCLA redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava
on the main differences between the last two games versus the first four
“We’re getting back to having fun. Football is a great sport that we play, and we’re getting back to childhood memories when we used to play this when we were younger. We’re going out there and having fun with it. We were a little uptight the first four games, and I feel like we went out there, let our hair flow, and played for fun.”
on the keys to the offense’s recent success under Coach Jerry Neuheisel
“Like I said, the offensive guys are going out there and having fun. We’re not uptight. The plays Coach Jerry is putting us in have been great. He’s putting us in great positions for us to be successful. Everything is clicking right now. The o-line has done a great job getting our run game open, and receivers are doing a great job of getting open.”
on the best part of their recent success
“Just us sticking together. It’s tough to start off 0-4, so I think us staying together in this whole journey. It was a rocky start, but it’s been a great and fun journey for us.”
UCLA 38, Michigan State 13
East Lansing, Mich. (Spartan Stadium)
Oct. 11, 2025
UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper
on not being one-hit-wonders
“Yeah, that was a message starting on Sunday. We preach it every day moving up. We just wanted to see who we really were, that was the whole thing about it. We wanted to come out and play 60 minutes of football, and we did that today. We strained, not being one-hit wonders, all those things, we're putting them all into the games now and that's exciting to see. We'll have to continue that. The future is going to get harder and harder as we keep on going. We'll have a tough matchup on homecoming playing against Maryland. We're going to need all the Bruin fans to be there, that's the start of the message right now. Start thinking about how you're going to get to the Rose Bowl next Saturday.”
on Jalen Berger's performance and returning to MSU
“You know, I kind of really want to talk about the O-Line and the running backs as a whole first. I think all week we preached that we have to win in the trenches. They're a time possession offense, we're trying to be a time possession offense, so that was an inner battle among the two offenses that were going against each other. Berger's been working hard since I've been here and I've been seeing him work. He's a great kid, he doesn't smile and all that all that much, he just goes to work and does his thing. I'm excited for him. It's good for him to have a good game here, I know that was personal for him. I'm just excited for him.”
on the energy of the team
“I'm an energetic guy. I don't like boring, so if I don't feel the juice, then we're going to start the day over. We haven't had to do that or anything, but energy and passion is how you're supposed to play football. That's the way we're going to practice, that's the way we meet, that's the way we play. So, we'll continue to keep that consistent.”
on scoring more points in UCLA's two most recent games
“Please don't jinx us with that. Man, the guys are working. Keep on game planning. We're going to have to keep taking what the defense is giving us, and we're going to get different looks than what you see on film because obviously we have a running quarterback, so teams are going to try to defend you in multiple ways. We're doing a good job in game with seeing how things are going and then adjusting to what we need to do.”
on going into a hostile environment and getting a big win
“Every time you go on the road there's all these built-in excuses that you can use, especially here, right? We went three time zones over, it's an early kickoff, it's their homecoming. There's all these built-in excuses, but at the end of the day, once you tee it up, it's ball on ball. And we just needed to play ball today, we needed to start fast, and we needed to finish, and that's what we did.”
on the defense holding strong
“Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the defense. I felt like in the first half against Penn State, we had a really, really good half. We held them at 92 yards in the first half of that game. We won a turnover battle that way. Today we kind of did the same thing. The same exact score as last week, 242-7. The defense is a huge part of it. I know everybody looks at stats and all that stuff, but to me, we've really changed our fundamentals. How we run with the ball, how we use our hands on the blocks, how we tackle people, how we're attacking the ball and stripping the tips and all that stuff. Our energy and passion has picked up on that side of the ball and I tip my hat to coach Kevin Coyle and the defensive staff, they're doing a great job of just getting the guys better every single day.”
on the difference between the team's first four games and the last two games
“That's a good question. I don't know if I'm the best guy to answer that. Like I told everybody when I first was in this position, we're going to go to training camp and start over, so in my mind I have kind of blocked out everything until I've been sitting in this seat and I see us getting better every single day. That's my whole entire goal. Just get better every single day. That's all I'm really worried about.”
on having fun
“Fun is always good when you're winning. You're going to have a lot of fun when you're winning. We need to continue that, but I'm one of those guys, all the decisions and things are in my head, I'm just locked into each single play. I'll enjoy this for a little while, but as soon as we land back in LA, we're going to get ready for the next one. It's exciting, but when you're in the middle of a season, you need to stay humble and get ready for the next one.”
on his message to the upcoming teams UCLA is playing
“Our message to them? I just hope they watch our film and think that we play good, sound football. We're well-coached and the guys play hard. All I can do is control what we're doing in our area of our locker room and things like that.”
UCLA redshirt senior running back Jalen Berger
on playing his former team and scoring three total touchdowns
“It felt good being back here, but we treat it like any other opponent. They were someone in the way of the mission.”
on how meaningful this win is for the team
“It feels good. We’re running the ball the whole fourth quarter, and their defense was getting tired and didn’t want to tackle. I think in the third quarter, it felt like they didn’t want to play anymore. That fumble at the end is something that I wish I could get back.”
on what they’ve focused on in this two-game run
“We’ve had an emphasis on starting fast. That’s the main thing. Just getting ahead. I think in those first four games we lost, we were never ahead, so just starting fast.”
UCLA redshirt sophomore defensive back Cole Martin
on claims that the team is a “one-hit wonder”
“One hit wonder, that’s something that we focused on this week. We tried to make sure that we go out there prepared as the team that we are. Go out there and do everything that was needed to come out here and perform today.”
on the difference in the defense between the last two games and the first four
“Straining. The biggest thing for us is straining on defense. Getting off the field, knowing the situation, winning the situation, and playing like that.”
on his thought process during the fake punt
“It’s just practice reps. Shoutout to Coach B-Mac (Bailey McElwain). He does a great job of preparing us the right way, so when we go out there, it’s regular execution. We go out there, go through our checklist, and perform the play. Just working to perfection.”
on the best part of their recent success
“The best part is really just the togetherness we have in the locker room. We came together, we’ve never altered, and we’ve always stayed together. That was the best part for me. Just knowing that whatever we go through, we’re going to have each other at the end of the day.”
UCLA redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava
on the main differences between the last two games versus the first four
“We’re getting back to having fun. Football is a great sport that we play, and we’re getting back to childhood memories when we used to play this when we were younger. We’re going out there and having fun with it. We were a little uptight the first four games, and I feel like we went out there, let our hair flow, and played for fun.”
on the keys to the offense’s recent success under Coach Jerry Neuheisel
“Like I said, the offensive guys are going out there and having fun. We’re not uptight. The plays Coach Jerry is putting us in have been great. He’s putting us in great positions for us to be successful. Everything is clicking right now. The o-line has done a great job getting our run game open, and receivers are doing a great job of getting open.”
on the best part of their recent success
“Just us sticking together. It’s tough to start off 0-4, so I think us staying together in this whole journey. It was a rocky start, but it’s been a great and fun journey for us.”