No. 7 UCLA Bruins will host the Nevada Wolfpack on Saturday, marking the final nonconference game of the regular season for the undefeated Bruins. The Wolf Pack are 2-2 since the start of Mountain West action, but their only road win this year came against one of the worst teams in the country.
UCLA is a 22.5-point home favorite on Saturday with -2100 moneyline odds, while Nevada has +1100 moneyline odds. The game total for the nonconference showdown is set at 44.5 points. Here is a preview of the Week 9 contest featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
UCLA Bruins vs. Nevada Wolf Pack Preview
UCLA
The Bruins, who have only played Power Conference programs so far this season, made a habit of pulling away late to open the year. They outscored Cal 21-0 in the fourth quarter en route to a 45-24 win, ended the SDSU game on a 21-7 run and outscored Purdue 28-10 down the stretch of that contest. UCLA stomped Maryland 54-3, then came out of their bye with a program-redefining 17-15 win at Oregon. Since then, the Bruins have beaten Wisconsin 17-7 and Michigan State 28-10.
Ty Dieffenbach has served as UCLA’s starting quarterback in those last two games, having initially checked in for Nico Iamaleava midway through the Oregon game when the star signal-caller suffered a season-ending knee injury. Dieffenbach is completing 61.4% of his passes for two touchdowns, 168.3 yards per game and a 128.6 passer rating – all dips from Iamaleava’s production. Dieffenbach also has -10 rushing yards to Iamaleava’s 144.
UCLA’s ground game still has the three-headed monster of Wayne Knight, Anthony Woods and Jaivian Thomas. Knight leads the Big Ten with 12 rushing and 13 scrimmage touchdowns to go along with his 104.7 scrimmage yards per game. Woods’ 6.9 yards per carry is actually the highest mark of the three, leading to his 71.9 yards per game and six touchdowns from scrimmage, while Thomas is averaging 36.6 scrimmage yards per game with four touchdowns. The top receiver trio of Semaj Morgan, Brian Rowe Jr. and Aidan Mizell all have carries, as well, in addition to their 200-plus scrimmage yards. Morgan’s 31 and Rowe’s 17 catches are far and away the most on the team, with Knight being the only other Bruin to clear double-digit grabs through seven games.
Through Week 8, the Bruins rank No. 12 in points allowed and No. 37 in points scored per game. They boast the No. 19 defense and No. 38 offense in SP+, ESPN’s opponent-adjusted efficiency metric that slots them in at No. 17 overall. UCLA’s defense has forced the second-most takeaways in the nation so far in 2026, thanks in large part to linebacker Samuel Omosigho’s five forced fumbles and safety Ta’Shawn James’ four interceptions. Omosigho, an Oklahoma transfer who also has 57 tackles, 10.0 TFL and 5.5 sacks, is a midseason All-American candidate.
Nevada
After trouncing Western Kentucky 49-14 to open the year, the Wolf Pack fell back down to Earth hard and fast. They lost 20-7 to Montana State – an FCS program – at home, then dropped one-score games to Middle Tennessee State and Air Force. And sandwiched between their 30-13 win over UTEP and their 28-13 win over San Jose State was a 31-17 defeat at the hands of North Dakota State.
The Wolf Pack have had three different quarterbacks run their offense so far this season. Carter Jones, AJ Bianco and Luke Duncan – a transfer from UCLA – have all rotated, although Jones and Bianco were both injured and did not play against SJSU. Duncan, who was 7-for-18 with zero touchdowns, two interceptions and 51 yards on the season before last week, proceeded to complete 18-of-29 passes for two touchdowns, no interceptions and 178 yards versus the Spartans. Damien Morgan leads Nevada with 31 receptions, but his 179 yards don’t match the 305 that Gary Givens III has racked up on just 19 grabs.
For all of the attention directed towards the Wold Pack’s quarterback situation, the run game is their bread and butter. Dominic Kelley has scored six touchdowns from scrimmage while averaging 100.4 yards per game. Herschel Turner Jr. averages 85.1 scrimmage yards per game with five touchdowns, on top of leading the Mountain West with 6.8 yards per carry.
Nevada ranks No. 88 in scoring offense, No. 96 in total offense and No. 98 in yards per play. Their offense sits at No. 107 in the SP+ rankings. On defense, the Wolf Pack rank No. 6 in limiting their opponents’ passing yards, but No. 100 in stopping the run. Their scoring defense ranks No. 54 in the FBS, while that unit ranks No. 55 in the SP+. Overall, Nevada is No. 89 in the SP+.
UCLA vs. Nevada Pick, Best Bet
Since Bob Chesney took over in Westwood, the Bruins have covered in seven straight games. Of course, Week 9 marks the first time they have been more than a three-touchdown favorite, but it is still a trend worth noting entering the weekend.
At the same time, Nevada is one spot lower than Michigan State in the SP+, and UCLA just beat them by 18. While a cleaner game could get the Bruins over that 22.5-point line, the Wolf Pack aren’t likely to let Dieffenbach string together a breakout performance. On top of that, UCLA’s run game hasn’t been quite as explosive since Iamaleava went down. So for as dominant as the Bruins’ defense has been in recent weeks, there is a clear path towards a lot of slow, methodical drives on both sides of this contest that could limit the number of scoring chances. A 30-10 win would keep UCLA undefeated heading into November, but the team’s perfect record against the spread would not survive.
