The Momentum UCLA Must Gain in This Year's Game Six

The Bruins need a much better season than they had last year. If they go 3-8 again, they will not only have enraged fans on social media and in person, but they'll likely have to gut the entire team and start from scratch.

To do so, they will need to start the season with a bang, close out games two and three in the process, play cleanly when it could be easy to let the small things slip, and keep momentum from going their opponents' way when things get hard.

However, just as last year, the Bruins will need to find some momentum to go their way to turn things around if they struggle in the first games, or to push forward in a good scenario. So how can UCLA do it again this year?

The Path to the Bruins Finding Momentum of Their Own in Week Six: Javian Thomas

• The Bruins absolutely decimated MSU on all parts of the offensive side of the ball, with Nico Iamaleava having an insane game just like he had against Penn State.

• However, the complementary pieces around Iamaleava were just as important, if not more so, than Iamaleava's play in the blowout: that is where Javian Thomas comes in.

• Thomas is one of two running backs in the game against the Spartans to reach 50 yards, the other being Jalen Berger, who is no longer on the team due to graduation.

• Thomas was also the only other rusher to score on his legs, complementing Iamaleava's play style in the best way he could have, and this season, he will need to embrace his complementary role, no matter how high up on the pecking order he is.

• But it extends past Thomas as well. Every rusher for the Bruins, whether someone like Wayne Knight, who is at the top of the charts, or someone who has lain low and is only now getting attention, will need to remember how they complement each other.

• Most importantly, they need to remember how they complement Iamaleava and keep his burden of carrying the offense from becoming too heavy so that he, and consequently the team, can play to the best of their ability.

The Path to the Bruins Finding Momentum of Their Own in Week Six: The Defensive Unit

• Nobody had a standout day against the Spartans, but everybody on defense contributed in some way, shape, or form, which allowed the Bruins to hold the Spartans to just 13 points, making the game a blowout.

• The idea for the defense is incredibly similar to the offense in that everybody is complementary to one another, but one thing is vastly different from defense to offense, and that is the solo plays.

• This is because nearly everybody against the Spartans was able to find a tackle of his own, and the even spread killed MSU before they could even compete. If UCLA wants to build momentum, they need to be able to play alone yet unified, an interesting balance.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/ucla as The Momentum UCLA Must Gain in This Year's Game Six.

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 1:00 PM.