Tag: UCLA

UCLA announces Bob Chesney as football coach, cites ‘vision of success’

Posted on | by Field Level Media

UCLA officially announced James Madison’s Bob Chesney as its new head football coach on Saturday.

The announcement came one day after Chesney guided the Dukes to a 31-14 victory over Troy in the Sun Belt championship game.

Chesney, 48, guided James Madison to a 12-1 (8-0 Sun Belt) record this season. He went 9-4 with the Dukes last season, including a victory in the Boca Raton Bowl.

“Bob Chesney has built programs into consistent winners at every stop in his career, and he’s ready to do it at UCLA,” Bruins athletic director Martin Jarmond said. “From our very first conversation, he articulated a clear vision of success for UCLA Football and a plan to elevate our program back to national prominence. From his detail-oriented approach to running a program, to his ability to connect, Bob impressed our search committee every step of the way. He’s a leader, a consensus builder and a developer of young men, and I’m thrilled to welcome him and his family to Westwood.”

Chesney will be officially introduced at a press conference on campus Tuesday.

“I’d like to thank Martin Jarmond, Chancellor Julio Frenk and the search committee for this incredible opportunity to lead the UCLA Football program,” Chesney said in a school release. “Through our many conversations, it became abundantly clear to me that UCLA is willing to do what it takes to build a championship-level program.”

Previously the head coach at Holy Cross, Chesney helped that team qualify for the FCS playoffs four times in six seasons.

The three-time Patriot League Coach of the Year compiled a 44-21 record with the Crusaders.

Chesney served as head coach at Division II Assumption (2013-17) and Division III Salve Regina (2010-12) before taking over at Holy Cross.

UCLA had been looking for a head coach since firing DeShaun Foster following an 0-3 start. The Bruins showed progress in October under interim coach Tim Skipper before dropping the final five games on their schedule to finish with a 3-9 (3-6 Big Ten) record.

–Field Level Media

Cal Poly hires former UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Former UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper is the new head coach of the Cal Poly Mustangs.

The school in San Luis Obispo, Calif., announced the hiring of Skipper on Wednesday.

Skipper, 47, took over the Bruins this season when DeShaun Foster was fired after an 0-3 start.

UCLA went 3-6 under Skipper with victories against then-No. 7 Penn State, Michigan State and Maryland.

“Tim’s experience and accomplishments in college football speak for themselves, and I am thrilled to welcome him as our new head football coach,” athletic director Carter Henderson said. “I believe deeply that our student-athletes will benefit greatly from the culture he develops, his deep football knowledge and his infectious enthusiasm, and I look forward to partnering with him.”

Skipper also served as interim head coach at Fresno State in 2024, finishing 6-7 with a loss in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

UCLA is expected to hire James Madison coach Bob Chesney as its new head coach.

–Field Level Media

Report: UCLA to hire James Madison’s Bob Chesney as coach

Posted on | by Field Level Media

James Madison coach Bob Chesney will follow up his team’s Sun Belt championship game against Troy by signing a five-year contract to become the head coach at UCLA, ESPN reported on Monday.

UCLA will allow Chesney to coach the Dukes in the College Football Playoff should they qualify, per the report. They host Troy in the conference title game on Friday night.

Chesney, 48, guided James Madison to an 11-1 record this season. He went 9-4 with the Dukes last season, including a victory in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Previously the head coach at Holy Cross, Chesney helped that team qualify for the FCS playoffs four times in six seasons.

The three-time Patriot League Coach of the Year compiled a 44-21 record with the Crusaders.

Chesney served as head coach at Division II Assumption (2013-17) and Division III Salve Regina (2010-12) before taking over at Holy Cross.

UCLA had been looking for a head coach since firing DeShaun Foster following an 0-3 start. The Bruins showed progress in October under interim coach Tim Skipper before dropping the final five games on their schedule to finish with a 3-9 record.

–Field Level Media

No. 17 USC rallies in second half, upends rival UCLA

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Jayden Maiava threw both of his touchdown passes in the second half to spearhead No. 17 Southern California’s 29-10 comeback win over visiting rival UCLA on Saturday in Los Angeles.

With two stalled drives ending in missed field goals, USC (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten Conference) went to halftime trailing 10-7 against its crosstown counterpart UCLA (3-9, 3-6).

After four straight possessions without scoring, following an initial possession in which King Miller carried for a 5-yard score, the Trojans finally broke through just before the end of the third quarter. Maiava found Makai Lemon for the only time in the contest, but on their 11th touchdown connection of the season, on a 32-yard bomb for a 14-10 USC lead.

USC, which has won four of its last five, struck again on its next possession when Maiava hit Lake McRee on a goal-line touchdown that pushed its lead to 21-10.

UCLA, which scored on a pair of lengthy time-consuming drives in the second quarter, saw its second-half possessions end in three consecutive punts and a turnover on downs before another turnover on downs effectively sealed the USC win.

The Bruins’ scoring drives went 7:50 in 13 plays and 79 yards, culminating in Nicol Iamaleava’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Kwazi Gilmer, and 60 yards in 13 plays over 5:24 before Mateen Baghani’s 38-yard field goal just before intermission.

UCLA had a pair of drives in the second half that ate up more than seven minutes of clock, including its last-gasp effort to rally after USC pulled ahead by two scores, but Braylan Shelby’s late sack of Iamaleava put the Bruins in a hole they could not escape.

Miller added the exclamation point on USC’s ensuing possession, breaking off a 41-yard scoring rush to cap his 17-carry, 124-yard game. Maiava finished the night 21-of-29 passing for 257 yards.

Iamaleava completed 27 of 38 passes for 200 yards, with Gilmer catching 11 targets for 94 yards. Jalen Berger rushed seven times for 57 yards in the loss, UCLA’s fifth straight. The Bruin bookended a three-game winning streak with a pair of long skids, including an 0-4 start.

–Field Level Media

With playoff hopes dashed, No. 17 USC finishes regular season vs. UCLA

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Crosstown rivals UCLA and No. 17 Southern California meet for the 95th time on Saturday when the Trojans host the Bruins at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

USC (8-3, 6-2 Big Ten) comes in looking to rebound from the disappointment of having its College Football Playoff hopes effectively dashed its last time out.

The Trojans dropped a 42-27 decision at then-No. 7 Oregon last weekend, which sent USC from No. 15 in the Playoff rankings — within striking distance of the coveted top 12 — down to 17th as revealed on Tuesday.

Coach Lincoln Riley called USC’s 2025 “a very good year, right on the verge of being a great year.”

Riley is 34-17 with the Trojans as he nears the end of his fourth season and 2-1 in rivalry games with UCLA after last season’s 19-13 win at Rose Bowl Stadium. While USC has yet to reach the playoff in Riley’s tenure, the coach’s name has surfaced in media speculation about various vacancies around college football.

Riley flatly denied any interest in leaving USC in his media availability following practice on Tuesday evening.

“Oh yeah, 100 percent,” he said of his commitment to the Trojans. “Like I’ve said before, I’m right where I’m supposed to be. … I love being here. That’s really the end of it.”

Since a midseason resurgence from an 0-4 start, UCLA (3-8, 3-5) has dropped four straight. Last week’s 48-14 loss at home to Washington bumped the Bruins’ average margin of defeat over this stretch to 32.3 points per game.

UCLA scored a combined 51 points in the four losses to Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State and Washington. In their Week 13 loss, the Bruins were scoreless until late in the third quarter before breaking through on a Luke Duncan touchdown pass to Mikey Matthews.

Duncan replaced Nico Iamaleava at quarterback after Iamaleava sustained an injury in the second half. Bruins interim coach Tim Skipper called the injury neck spasms during his media availability on Monday.

Iamaleava is day-to-day, Skipper said.

Another significant injury looming for UCLA against a high-powered USC offense averaging 37.2 points per game is the loss of defensive back Rodrick Pleasant. Pleasant underwent shoulder surgery for an injury that Skipper said the defensive back had been playing through for much of the season.

“This is an explosive offense,” Skipper said of USC. “We’re going to have our hands full. We’re going to have to have all hands on deck. We’re going to have to throw different things at them, try to confuse them.”

Skipper said that while USC’s passing attack with quarterback Jayden Maiava and wide receivers Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane presents obvious threats, the UCLA interim praised Riley-coached teams for effectively balancing the run game.

Rushing has been a barometer for the Trojans’ success in 2025. In losses at Notre Dame and Oregon, USC finished with just 68 and 52 yards on the ground.

Those losses are also the Trojans’ only games without a rushing touchdown this season.

The USC backfield has dealt with its own share of injuries. Waymond Jordan has been out since sustaining an ankle injury in the Oct. 11 win over Michigan, Bryan Jackson missed four games with turf toe and Eli Sanders sustained a season-ending knee injury vs. Michigan.

Freshman King Miller emerged as the primary option in the depleted ball-carrying rotation, producing consecutive games of 129 and 127 yards at Nebraska and vs. Northwestern, but has not scored a touchdown in the last two outings.

–Field Level Media

Demond Williams Jr., Washington in control throughout in downing UCLA

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Demond Williams Jr. passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two more as Washington cruised past UCLA 48-14 on Saturday night in Pasadena, Calif.

After its first three possessions resulted in two punts and a field goal set up by favorable field position, the Washington offense finally broke through with Williams’ first score of the night. His 25-yard touchdown carry in the second quarter capped an eight-play, 65-yard drive, and set off a deluge from the Huskies (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten Conference).

Washington scored 34 unanswered points and, for the better part of three quarters, looked prime to hand UCLA (3-8, 3-5) its first shutout loss since 2011.

The Huskies defense held the Bruins to just more than 100 yards until deep into the third period. UCLA converted its first third-down attempt earlier in the game, then failed to do so on its next 10 opportunities.

It was not until Luke Duncan — taking over at quarterback after Nico Iamaleava was injured on a sack — completed a 24-yard pass to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala late in the third quarter that UCLA successfully converted a second third-down attempt.

That conversion set up the Bruins’ first score, as Duncan found Mikey Matthews on a short completion the receiver took to the end zone. The 37-yard touchdown was one of a limited number of times the Huskies’ defense gave up anything to UCLA.

One defensive highlight came late in the second quarter when safety Alex McLaughlin ran back a 59-yard scoop-and-score after the Huskies sniffed out a UCLA fake field-goal attempt. McLaughlin’s touchdown shortly before halftime turned a two-possession deficit for the Bruins into a three-score gap, 20-0.

Williams poured it on in the third quarter with an 11-yard touchdown carry and an 18-yard scoring strike to Dezmen Roebuck. Williams added another touchdown pass of 24 yards to Decker DeGraaf in the fourth quarter. J. Coleman’s 1-yard TD run and DeGraaf’s TD bookended UCLA’s second score: Jamir Benjamin’s 13-yard return of a fumbled punt return forced by teammate Kanye Clark.

Williams finished 17-of-26 passing for 213 yards with an interception. He rushed for 56 yards, backing up Adam Mohammed’s 108 yards on 21 carries. Roebuck led the Huskies with seven receptions for 96 yards.

Duncan finished 5-for-11 for 81 yards. Iamaleava went 16 of 26 for 69 yards. Washington outgained UCLA, 426 to 207, including 212-57 on the ground.

–Field Level Media

Inconsistent Washington eyes get-right opportunity vs. struggling UCLA

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Longtime Pac-12 Conference counterparts meet under the Big Ten banner on Saturday when UCLA welcomes Washington to Pasadena, Calif. for the 78th all-time matchup between the programs.

Washington (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) makes its first visit to Rose Bowl Stadium since September 2022, playing the first of two regular-season-ending matchups against former Pac-12 opponents. A Thanksgiving weekend home date against rival Oregon looms on Nov. 29.

With the opportunity to play spoiler against the College Football Playoff hopeful Ducks still to come, the Huskies look to avoid a letdown this week against the sputtering Bruins (3-7, 3-4).

“I’m just excited about going back out there and playing that game in that stadium,” said Washington coach Jedd Fisch, who was previously offensive coordinator at UCLA in 2017 and replaced Jim Mora as interim coach to close out that season.

“We have talked to our team about what it’s like to play in that stadium and how cool it is to pull up in that parking lot.”

Since winning three straight shortly after the firing of head coach DeShaun Foster, UCLA has backslid with three consecutive losses. Sandwiching a 28-21 defeat at home against Nebraska on Nov. 8 were blowout losses on the road against the nation’s top two ranked teams, Indiana and Ohio State.

“We’re focused on finishing the season right,” interim coach Tim Skipper said on Monday. “… Everybody knows you’re measured when you’re dealing with adversity.”

In its last four games, including a 20-17 win over Maryland, UCLA has averaged just 14.3 points per game. Compounding the Bruins’ challenges is the continued uncertainty of quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s availability.

He sustained a concussion in the loss to Nebraska, which sidelined him in last Saturday’s 48-10 loss to Ohio State. Luke Duncan made the start against the Buckeyes, going 16-of-23 passing for 154 yards with an 18-yard touchdown throw to Kwazi Gilmer.

The run game provided little support, however, with UCLA totaling just 68 yards on the ground.

Iamaleava was labeled as day-to-day by Skipper early this week.

Meanwhile, Washington’s offense has ridden a roller coaster in recent weeks, scoring just seven and 10 points in losses to Michigan and Wisconsin but putting up 42 and 49 points in wins over Illinois and Purdue.

Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. combined for six touchdown passes in the two wins, while finishing with just one touchdown pass and four interceptions in those two losses.

–Field Level Media

Legendary Hall of Fame S Kenny Easley dies at 66

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Pro Football Hall of Famer Kenny Easley, one of the top safeties in college and NFL history, died on Friday. He was 66.

On Saturday, the Seattle Seahawks announced the death of Easley, who spent his entire seven-year NFL career (1981-87) with the team from before a kidney ailment forced him to retire at age 28.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Seahawks Legend Kenny Easley,” the Seahawks said in a statement. “Kenny embodied what it meant to be a Seahawk through his leadership, toughness, intensity, and fearlessness. His intimidating nature and athletic grace made him one of the best players of all-time.”

Easley was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and a member of the 1980s All-Decade Team. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and the College Hall of Fame in 1991.

Easley was NFL Defensive Player of the Year when he led the NFL with 10 interceptions in 1984. He also was a three-time first-team All-Pro and had 32 interceptions in 89 career games, returning three for touchdowns.

“Kenny Easley would have been a dominant safety in any era,” Hall of Fame president and CEO Jim Porter said in a statement. “When he was enshrined in 2017, he took his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and embraced his football immortality.

“Kenny possessed excellent ball skills, but make no mistake: His biggest strengths were his fearlessness and intensity. If you had the ball as an opposing offensive player, he was going to hit you hard — and you were going to feel it for a while.”

After his forced retirement, Easley sued the Seahawks, claiming large doses of ibuprofen prescribed by the team damaged his kidneys. The two sides later settled out of court. Easley underwent a kidney transplant in 1990.

Easley later reconciled with the franchise and was placed in the Seahawks’ Ring of Honor in 2002, and his No. 45 was retired by the team in 2017.

The Seahawks selected Easley with the No. 4 overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft after he was a three-time consensus All-American at UCLA and became the first player in Pac-10 history to be first-team all-conference four times (1977-80).

Easley still holds the school record of 19 interceptions and ranks fifth with 374 tackles. He finished ninth in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1980.

“We mourn the passing of Bruin legend Kenny Easley. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all who were inspired by him,” UCLA said in a statement on Saturday.”

–Field Level Media

Report: UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava out vs. No. 1 Ohio State

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UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava will miss Saturday night’s game at No. 1 Ohio State because of a concussion, ESPN reported.

Redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan will make his first career start for the Bruins (3-6, 3-3 Big Ten) against the unbeaten Buckeyes (9-0, 6-0) in Columbus. Duncan never has attempted a pass in a college game.

Iamaleava began experiencing concussion symptoms following last weekend’s 28-21 home loss to Nebraska, On3 reported. The redshirt sophomore passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 86 yards but was sacked three times by the Cornhuskers.

For the season, Iamaleava has completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,659 yards with 12 TDs and seven interceptions in nine games. He has rushed for 474 yards and four scores.

–Field Level Media

Still No. 1, Ohio State ready for roller coaster UCLA

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UCLA’s roller coaster season is on the downswing again and the Bruins picked quite the time and place to try ending another losing streak.

No. 1 Ohio State (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) has been relentless in pursuit of back-to-back national championships and hits the home stretch of the regular season mindful of its form against the erratic Bruins (3-6, 3-3 Big Ten) in Columbus on Saturday.

The Buckeyes maintained their hold of the Big Ten and the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday. Ohio State’s resume is even better this season than it was at this time last year.

They lead the nation in scoring defense (7.2 points game), total defense (211.6 yards per game) and red-zone defending, allowing nine scores (five touchdowns and four field goals) in 16 attempts for 56.2%.

Junior linebacker Arvell Reese, a first-year starter who is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has emerged as one of the stalwarts.

“There’s talk about him with awards, or maybe there’s talk about him in the draft. That doesn’t affect Arvell,” Ohio State coach Ryad Day said. “Arvell just focuses on what matters. It starts with a mindset but I think early in his career he could have very easily been discouraged because maybe he didn’t play as much.”

Reese leads the Buckeyes with 55 tackles and has 6 ½ sacks, second on the team.

“They have a lot of big time players and the most impressive thing is they’re playing complimentary football, playing as a team,” UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper said. “It’s good to see that can still happen. Their offense, defense, special teams, is all tied into each other; the offensive ball control and getting the defense off the field, and the defense getting the ball back for the offense and the special teams getting out there making a difference.”

The Ohio State offense is led by Heisman Trophy contenders Julian Sayin and receiver Jeremiah Smith. Sayin threw for 303 yards and a 35-yard TD to Smith in the 34-10 win at Purdue on Saturday.

Smith had a career-high 10 catches for 137 yards despite extra attention because receiver Carnell Tate did not play as a precaution due to an undisclosed injury. He is expected to be available against the Bruins.

It’s been a strange season for UCLA. An 0-3 start cost DeShaun Foster his job. Skipper lost his first game then reeled of three straight wins, including Penn State, before losing to No. 2 Indiana, 56-6, and Nebraska, 28-21.

Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava may have flashbacks when he steps onto the Ohio Stadium field for a second time. Eleven months ago, he was playing for Tennessee on a 25-degree night for a CFP first-round matchup.

It didn’t go well. The Buckeyes routed the Vols 42-17 and he was 14 of 31 for 104 yards, sacked four times for 35 yards and had 20 rushes for 47 yards.

Last week, Nebraska sacked him three times and Iamaleava took a beating while rushing for a team-high 86 yards.

“Obviously, starting quarterback, you don’t want to take big hits and things like that, but if they’re going to give him running lanes, you might as well take them,” Skipper said. “I kid with him all the time, every now and then you might want to slide a little bit. But when you have a natural runner like he is, you kind of just let them go do their thing.”

–Field Level Media