‘They didn’t want to play anymore’: Ex-Michigan State RB tires out Spartans in return game
EAST LANSING — The UCLA Bruins wanted to dominate the trenches and control time of possession against Michigan State in their matchup on Saturday.
In order to do that, the Bruins needed someone to step up for an offense that went into the game ranked 75th in the nation for rushing offense.
They got that in the player on their roster that knows Spartan Stadium the best — former MSU running back Jalen Berger.
After earning just 78 yards on 23 carries in his first five games this season, Berger exploded for 89 rushing yards, 24 receiving yards and three total touchdowns in UCLA’s lopsided win over the Spartans.
“Berger’s been working hard since I’ve been here, since I’ve been seeing him work. He’s a great kid,” UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper said. “He doesn’t smile and all that all that much, he just goes to work and does his thing. I’m excited for him. It’s good for him to have a good game here, I know that was personal for him. Just excited for him.”
Berger last played for MSU in 2023, his second season with the program after leading the team in rushing in 2022, before an injury cut the year short and he entered the transfer portal.
The Newark, N.J. native spent his first two seasons at Wisconsin, leading the team in rushing as a freshman. His first season with the Bruins in 2024 was mired by another injury and he hasn’t been the top option for UCLA early on.
But it may have been the major coaching changes the Bruins have gone through this season that opened the door for Berger to thrive in the same stadium he rushed for most of his 683 yards and six touchdowns in 2022.
“It felt good being back here, but we just treated this like any other opponent,” Berger said. “They were just someone in the way of the mission.”
Berger looked like a man on a mission, taking a direct snap in the first quarter against MSU and weaving his way for a 16-yard touchdown run. He wound up with a few more explosive runs, including a 26-yard pickup in the third quarter.
While he added his other two touchdowns on receptions, Berger felt like the ground game was what did the most damage to putting away the Spartans.
As a team, UCLA amassed 238 rushing yards on 43 attempts for 5.5 yards per carry. Berger could feel their O-line and wide array of rushers wearing down MSU’s defense and keeping them from mounting a second-half comeback.
“It feels good, just running the ball the whole four quarters. Then the defense getting tired, they don’t want to tackle the whole four quarters,” Berger said. “I think about the third quarter, it felt like they didn’t want to play anymore.”
In the third quarter alone, the Bruins rushed 10 times for 6.1 yards per attempt. And in the fourth quarter, UCLA possessed the ball for 10 of 15 minutes, only using running plays and still averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
While it was a game the Spartans will want to forget and move on from, Berger may have found a real jumping off point for what will likely be his final college season in the same stadium he used to rep the green and white.
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