UCLA must keep good vibes going with win over Michigan State

The UCLA Bruins are riding high after a massive upset of the No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions.

Frankly, it was a game UCLA had no business winning. The Bruins had fired head coach DeShaun Foster after a 0-3 start in which they were outscored 108-43. Interim head coach Tim Skipper lost his first game at the helm, to hapless Northwestern, and Penn State was coming off a thrilling but disappointing overtime loss to Oregon in Happy Valley.

This had all the makings of a "get right" game for the Nittany Lions, but the result was a shocking 42-37 UCLA win.

Earlier this week, Skipper revealed that UCLA is on Cloud 9 after the win. Even bad jokes sound funny after knocking PSU out of the Top 25 rankings.

“Smiling, laughing, talking,” he said of the locker room vibes (h/t On3). “When you’re sore after a game it actually feels pretty good, you know what I mean? Lot of things. Just the flow, people laugh at bad jokes now and stuff. Just, man, just joy. That’s how I would describe it. Just pure joy, excitement, realization that hard work is paying off, and I think that’s important.”

The UCLA Bruins must seize the momentum by beating Michigan State

This could end up being a moment for UCLA that could catapult the Bruins into a much better season than many were expecting out of them after the 0-4 start.

This could be the start of something huge for Skipper, who has been an interim head coach before but never a full-on head coach. One would imagine this win over Penn State will be a huge talking point for his resume.

It could also be a huge moment for transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who shockingly left Tennessee and the SEC amid an NIL dispute and was panned for joining up with what seemed to be a hopeless UCLA squad.

This could be the start of a "redemption" tour for the former star recruit.