{"id":100260,"date":"2026-11-14T01:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T08:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=100260"},"modified":"2026-11-14T01:43:05","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T08:43:05","slug":"dieffenbach-comes-back-leads-bruins-to-10th-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=100260","title":{"rendered":"Dieffenbach Comes Back; Leads Bruins to 10th Win"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Bruins’ quarterback Ty Dieffenbach (14) is brought down short of the goal line by the Fighting Illini’s defensive back Matthew Bailey (7) during an NCAA Division 1 football game between the UCLA Bruins and the visiting University of Illinois Fighting Illini at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA on November 13, 2026. (Photo by David Thomas)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Rich Whittington<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Pasadena) The UCLA Bruins survived injury, penalties, and turnovers to secure their 10th victory of the year Friday evening, defeating the visiting Illinois Fighting Illini 22-14 in front of a rowdy crowd at the Rose Bowl.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

UCLA wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. The Bruins opened the game with a 54- yard touchdown connection from quarterback Ty Dieffenbach to Aiden Mizell. The extra point was added by kicker Mateen Bhaghani making the score 7-0 with 12:37 remaining in the opening quarter. The remainder of the period saw a total of 7 total first downs and several punts, but no additional points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


UCLA added to their score in the waning moments of the second quarter when Bhaghani kicked a 20-yard field goal to make the score 10-0 with 1:34 remaining in the first half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While points were scarce in the period, miscues were plentiful. UCLA and Illinois combined for six penalties, two interceptions, and five punts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Bruins’ wide receiver Aidan Mizell (1) makes a catch for a first down during an NCAA Division 1 football game between the UCLA Bruins and the visiting University of Illinois Fighting Illini at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA on November 13, 2026. (Photo by David Thomas)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the third quarter it was more of the same. Additionally, the Bruins saw their starting quarterback replaced for most of the third period. However, while the offense struggled, the defense thrived\u2026adding a safety by the combined efforts of Amier Washington and Aiden Gobaira. This made the score 12-0 with 8:27 remaining in the third quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illinois got on the board in the third when quarterback Katin Houser found tight end Kaden Feagin for an 18-yard score. The PAT was added by kicker Ethan Moczulski making the score 12-7 as the third quarter ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the final period UCLA got back on track. Dieffenbach returned and put together an 8 play, 75-yard drive which ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass to wideout Semaj Morgan. The Bhaghani boot was again successful, making the score 19-7 with 11:38 remaining in the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Bruins’ running back Wayne Knight (3) gets pushed out of bounds during an NCAA Division 1 football game between the UCLA Bruins and the visiting University of Illinois Fighting Illini at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA on November 13, 2026. (Photo by David Thomas)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Illinois answered with a score of their own when Houser found Collin Dixon for a 7-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 19-14 with 7:14 remaining in regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illinois had a final chance to take the lead. However, UCLA\u2019s Scooter Jackson intercepted an errant Houser offering with 2:37 remaining in the game. The Bruins ran three plays causing Illinois to use their remaining time outs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the two-minute warning Bhaghani kicked his second field goal of the night from 37 yards away, making the score 22-14 for the final tally with 1:56 remaining on the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next up for UCLA is a trip to \u201cThe Big House\u201d in Ann Arbor, where the Bruins will meet the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, November 21st . Game time is to be announced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rich Whittington (Pasadena) The UCLA Bruins survived injury, penalties, and turnovers to secure their 10th victory of the year Friday evening, defeating the visiting Illinois Fighting Illini 22-14 in front of a rowdy crowd at the Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[871],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100260"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100269,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100260\/revisions\/100269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}