Wayne Knight didn't have any Power Four conference offers when he graduated from high school in Delaware. On Saturday, playing for a UCLA program with high expectations, he ran for three touchdowns.
During the opening game of the Bob Chesney era , UCLA's run game looked dominant during a 45-24 road win over California. Knight, one of 10 players who joined Chesney moving from James Madison to Westwood, was the leader of a group that ran for six touchdowns.
"You always want to get on the big stage and show everyone that you can do it," Knight said in the cramped visiting press room of California Memorial Stadium, barely rising above the noise of the locker room celebration outside. "Right now, it's very fulfilling, but we got a lot more to do."
The night was nearly soured by a brief injury scare to quarterback Nico Iamaleava , but by then the Bruins had effectively won the game by dominating in two areas in which they performed poorly a season ago — rushing and defense.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava scores a rushing touchdown in the first half against California. Iamaleava passed for 184 yards and rushed for 29. (Godofredo A. Vasquez / For The Times)
UCLA outscored Cal 21-0 in the fourth quarter off two interceptions from transfer safety Ta'Shawn James , who got his first pick when Cal sophomore Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele's third-down pass was tipped by his receiver. Knight ran for a 31-yard touchdown on the next play to help give UCLA a 31-24 lead with 8:46 left to go.
On the next Cal drive, Sagapolutele miscommunicated with a receiver he expected to cut and instead lofted a ball straight to James, who gathered it for the Bruins with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter. Soon after, Knight delivered his third touchdown on a four-yard run.
"It was like a movie," said James, who earned the first interceptions of his career.
Anthony Woods broke free for a 53-yard run on the Bruins' final possession for his second touchdown and UCLA's sixth — all on the ground. Last season, the Bruins ran for eight.
Running back Wayne Knight ran for three of UCLA's six rushing touchdowns. Last season, the Bruins had eight. (Godofredo A. Vasquez / For The Times)
Along with his three scores, Knight ran for 71 yards on eight carries during his UCLA debut. Iamaleava completed 14 of 22 passes for 184 yards, with an interception. He rushed for 29 yards and scored a touchdown. Woods finished with 118 yards on eight carries.
"We got a lot of guys in there that can make plays," Knight said. "It's never going to drop off with any of us. That's gonna be a huge testament for a lot of games that we win this season."
Since the demise of the Pac-12 in 2023, the Golden Bears and Bruins hadn't met. Saturday still had all the feelings associated with "Pac-12 After Dark" chaos.
Iamaleava left the game with 4:49 left in the fourth quarter after a 10-yard rush left him unable to stand for a few minutes, limping into a sideline medical tent with an apparent left leg injury. His younger brother, Madden, took over handing the ball off to complete the UCLA scoring drive. Nico reentered the game for UCLA's final possession.
Chesney said Iamaleava was dealing with a cleat hitting his calf before it cramped up.
"We've seen our potential out there with this first game and it's on us to go out there and put in the work," Iamaleava said.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney, speaking with players during pregame stretches, coaxed a winning debut out of his new program. (Godofredo A. Vasquez / For The Times)
Before Iamaleava took that hit, Chesney already had adapted to the loss of starting receiver Landon Ellis, who went down early in the third quarter. With the Golden Bears applying pressure, the Bruins started to rely on the ground game.
"It's amazing," Knight said. "We got a lot of guys that can go and keep fresh legs. So any given chance in the moment, it's your time to shine."
It seemed both teams might light up the scoreboard early.
Cal began with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive, with UCLA promptly responding with a seven-play, 71-yard possession capped with a nine-yard touchdown run by Iamaleava.
The defenses then turned up pressure and forced a series of punts.
In the second quarter, Woods bounced off of traffic and around the edge for a 31-yard dash into the end zone to help give the Bruins a 14-10 lead with 10:19 left in the half.
Read more: Plaschke: Bob Chesney is going to do the impossible at UCLA — win
Derrick Barksdale, one of the James Madison transfers, sacked Sagapolutele in the second quarter to end a drive before it began, setting the stage for another UCLA touchdown on Knight's eight-yard run on third down.
But then, Cal forced a momentum shift.
Iamaleava threw a red-zone interception with 51 seconds left in the half. The Golden Bears responded with an 87-yard scoring drive spanning 38 seconds to cut the Bruins' lead to 21-17. Mateen Bhaghani kicked a 38-yard field goal in the final seconds to give UCLA a 24-17 halftime advantage.
Cal took its opening possession of the third quarter 85 yards in a 14-play drive that tied the score 24-24. But the Golden Bears wouldn't find the end zone again, as UCLA's defense forced turnovers and its offense hit its stride in the fourth quarter.
"Honestly, it was good for our first game to play versus some very talented receivers, and it's going to set the tone for us and for down the road," James said. "Shout out to those guys. They went out there and played hard, made plays. But we went out there and made plays too. So, honestly, I don't see us stopping."
Read more: Former James Madison players say Bob Chesney inspired their challenging moves to UCLA
The Bruins had the worst defense in the Big Ten a season ago, giving up 33.4 points per game, and were last in the nation in sacks (10). They also had the 13th-ranked rushing offense in the conference.
Almost everything Saturday was a drastic improvement from last year's 3-9 season.
"We all came together with a lot of transfers and Coach Ches and we trust him," said receiver Mikey Matthews (four catches, 88 yards), who transferred from Cal. "He's leading us and we trust him with all of our hearts. So we just play for him and play extra hard."
Both programs came in with higher expectations. Like UCLA, Cal has a transfer-loaded roster and a new coach, Tosh Lupoi . Led by Sagapolutele, the Bears have high hopes of revitalizing a program that hasn't won nine games in a season since 2008.
But in the first game of a new era for the cross-state rivals, UCLA was ahead of the curve.
"It was a lot of fun," Chesney said with a grin. "That was a battle."
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .
