Week 7 Primer: UCLA's Lengthy History vs. Michigan State

The Bruins and Spartans are matching up for the first time in over 50 years.

Oct 4, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer (3) celebrates with quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (1-4, 1-1 Big Ten) are in the midst of a complete turnaround after upsetting No. 7 Penn State last week for their first win of the season.

Up next is an East Coast test against Michigan State (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten), which has lost its last two games and is eager to get back in the win column.

Bruins interim head coach Tim Skipper and offensive play-caller Jerry Neuheisel are aiming to continue this positive momentum with another Big Ten win in hopes of a similar turnaround to last season.

As is tradition every week, let's look back on the history of this matchup and how the two teams have played each other in the past.

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The History

The Bruins have faced Michigan State six times in their history and have a split record, 3-3. The roots of this matchup date back very far, though.

The last time the Spartans played UCLA was in 1974, which was a Bruins 56-14 win. In fact, UCLA has won two of the last three matchups (the other two were 1973 and the 1965 Rose Bowl).

Michigan State was actually deemed the national champions along with Alabama in 1965. The Spartans played the Bruins earlier in that season and won 13-3. Prior to that, they beat UCLA in 1955 and in their first historical matchup in 1953.

Game History:

• 1974: UCLA 56-14
• 1973: UCLA 34-21
• 1965: (Sept. 18): MSU 13-2
• 1965 (Jan. 1): UCLA 14-12
• 1955: MSU 17-14
• 1953: MSU 28-20

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Tim Skipper Shares Michigan State Scouting Report

Sep 27, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; UCLA Bruins interim head coach Tim Skipper talks to a official during the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Bruins' road matchup against MSU presents a plethora of unique obstacles, namely the 9 a.m. PT start time because of the east-coast road matchup, which has become a regular occurance since the shift to the Big Ten.

Nov 30, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins helmets during pregame warmups before playing the Fresno State Bulldogs at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

But the Spartans are reeling off two straight losses, and the Bruins are coming off one of the biggest wins of the college football season. Still, a game needs to be played on the field, and UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper shared his early takeaways from Michigan State during Monday's media availability.

"Well-coached team," Skipper said. "One thing that sticks out to me is that they're not penalized a lot. Their penalties are way down, so they're going to force you to play ball."

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith holds a football as the team warms up before the game against Youngstown State on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penalties and discipline were major issues in UCLA's abysmal 0-4 start. The Bruins routinely cut off any momentum they could garner by committing a random false start here or an unnecessary holding penalty over there.

Defense was also an issued before the Penn State win. Which is why Skipper broke down the Michigan State offense first.

Jul 29, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; A detailed view of UCLA Bruins helmet during Pac-12 Media Day at Novo Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"On offense, they're a time-of-possession [team]. They want to win that category," Skipper said. "They're not going to go fast. They're going to take their time. They're an 11 and 12 personnel type team as their base. They'll get into their big boy stuff, too, when it's short yards and things like that.

"Another thing that sticks out; they're going to give us some old school football. They're going to have a quarterback under center and they'll give us some two-back looks."

Oct 4, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Aidan Chiles (2) warms up before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kylie Graham-Imagn Images | Kylie Graham-Imagn Images

Then, Skipper moved on to the Spartans' defense:

"On defense, they're a four-down operation. They're going to play man and they're going to play some Cover Four. When they get to third downs, that's when they're going to get a little exotic and try to heat us up and pressure us a little bit, so we have to be ready for their five-man and six-man pressures.

Aug 28, 2021; Pasadena, California, USA; Detailed view of Coach Donahue decal in the memory of former UCLA Bruins coach Terry Donahue on the back of the helmet of offensive lineman Beau Taylor (77) during the game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"They play hard, man. You see 'em on film, they tackle well, guys are pursuing when they're on defense. On offense, they're controlling it, they want to win on the ground. They have a very athletic quarterback that causes a lot of problems. So, this is going to be a huge challenge for us."

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