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There was nothing but open field in front of the Michigan State defender after he picked up the fumble and raced past midfield with the score tied in the second quarter.
Chasing from the far side was an unlikely pursuer – UCLA’s quarterback.
As Ty Dieffenbach finally caught up to the Spartans’ Nikai Martinez around the Bruins’ 22-yard line Saturday afternoon, he made contact, holding Martinez up until his teammates could arrive to make the tackle.
Two plays later, Michigan State’s quarterback threw an interception leading to a UCLA touchdown. A game the Spartans could have been leading had Dieffenbach not displayed his speed and toughness – on defense, in essence – was now trending heavily in the Bruins’ direction.
Forget Dieffenbach’s huge touchdown pass in the third quarter.
This was the play of the game.
“Ty’s response at that moment of making sure he held that kid up until help showed up, it’s everything,” UCLA coach Bob Chesney said after his ninth-ranked team overcame a horrible start to pull away for a 28-10 victory at the Rose Bowl. “It’s 14 points, right? I thought he did a great job.”
In many facets.
After shaking off a lower-body injury just before halftime, Dieffenbach returned to complete a 63-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brian Rowe Jr. in the third quarter. Rowe made the play possible by badly beating his defender and reaching out to haul in the pass on his way to the end zone.
“Got a good play call, got the post against quarters, safety came down and we just launched it,” Dieffenbach said after improving to 2-0 as the Bruins’ starter for a team that remained unbeaten and in strong contention for the College Football Playoff. “It was a great catch and run and finish with the touchdown.”
For a few frightening moments late in the second quarter, it seemed as if Dieffenbach might be done for the day.
After getting crunched by a pack of defenders, he remained on the field for several minutes while trainers looked at him. Then he rose and walked slowly off the field.
With star quarterback Nico Iamaleava already having been lost for the season because of a knee injury suffered earlier this month, the Bruins (7-0 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) couldn’t afford to lose another quarterback.
But it soon became apparent that Dieffenbach would be back.
“It was just a cleat on like a weird spot where it was sensitive and felt nervy to him,” Chesney said of the situation, “but in the end, when he came in and moved around, he’s like, ‘I’m perfectly fine.’ ”
Dieffenbach lamented several passes he didn’t complete on the way to finishing 18 of 31 for 198 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions.
The senior didn’t need to be perfect on a day the Bruins rolled up 245 yards on the ground.
But the play that generated the most buzz afterward was Dieffenbach’s handiwork on defense.
“Ty’s fast,” UCLA defensive back Malik Hartford said after making his own huge contributions with a forced fumble and an interception. “Just appreciate him giving the defense a chance. I mean, that’s all you can ask for.”
Dieffenbach said his approach in that situation was to just get in front of Martinez and delay him long enough for someone to make the tackle.
“People don’t want to see their quarterback do that,” Dieffenbach said of trying to play defense and potentially getting hurt, “but for me, I’ll do whatever for this team – I’ll get in front of him, I’ll hit him if I have to. I tried to hit him but it’s been a while since I’ve made a tackle.”
He might as well have been credited with one, having symbolized his team’s resolve on a day that it needed it.