UCLA beat San Diego State 28-10 at the Rose Bowl Stadium on Saturday, but it took until the second half to shake loose from a game that was 0-0 at halftime. By the end, the Bruins had the result they wanted, the crowd of 31,973 had something to cheer, and Bob Chesney had the kind of home opener that can be sold as a start rather than a promise.
The turnout mattered almost as much as the score. UCLA said 600 tickets were bought through Tim Harris and the Champion of Westwood NIL collective to help fill the Rose Bowl, and the crowd was bigger than last season’s home opener against Utah, which drew 27,785. In an 89,702-seat venue, it still left a lot of empty red seats, but it was a step toward the kind of Saturday that feels crowded enough to matter in Westwood.
That was the point of the afternoon for Chesney, who personally invited people to the Rose Bowl and told them, “I told you it would be different on our side; we need it to be different on their side as well.” For fans like Aaron Flores, who came with his family after saying he was ready for winning after years of Battered Bruin Syndrome, the draw was as much about belief as football. Spencer Schoenbaum put it more simply: he said he was excited that everyone was excited again, and added that his family and friends were back tailgating after years of indifference.
The first half did not match the mood. UCLA and San Diego State were locked in a scoreless game at the break, the sort of impressively inept football that can make a fresh start feel older than it is. UCLA had not had a 0-0 halftime score since November 1993, and the pause offered a reminder that enthusiasm alone does not move the ball.
What changed was the second half, when UCLA finally turned the afternoon into the result the crowd had come for. Wayne Knight had another three-touchdown game and helped power the 28-10 win, and Jalen Woods said Chesney kept telling the team to “keep going” and “don’t lose the fight.” UCLA is now 2-0, with both wins coming as the school tries to turn a new coach, a stronger finish and a little more noise around the Rose Bowl into something lasting.
