UCLA’s Bob Chesney is bringing major reinforcements into Oregon rematch

With his team having risen to No. 21 in the national rankings, UCLA coach Bob Chesney wrote that number where his players could see it.

He did not want them to savor it. He did not want them to even consider it.

“If you pay attention to this number,” Chesney said he told them of the program’s highest ranking since November 2023, “it will go away, right? If you pay attention to what you did to get that number, and only focus on that, and improve on that, maybe the number even gets better.”

They can certainly enhance their standing Saturday.

The Bruins (4-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) will face No. 13 Oregon (3-1, 1-0) at Autzen Stadium in what amounts to a rematch for Chesney, a large chunk of his coaching staff and 11 transfers from James Madison.

The group of former Dukes that lost to the Ducks in the College Football Playoff last December is getting a do-over of sorts, with one exception.

They’re bringing reinforcements.

These Bruins feature difference-makers at every position.

“You know, we have a different caliber of athlete in the Big Ten,” said defensive back Derrick Barksdale, one of the James Madison transfers, “so being here at UCLA, our DBs are much faster, our linebackers are moving sideline to sideline way faster, so I feel like we match up perfectly fine and we’re going to play football at the end of the day.”

Star running back Wayne Knight and edge rusher Sahir West are among the other former James Madison players seeking a better showing than they put on in December during a 51-34 loss at Autzen Stadium in the first round of the CFP.

Quarterback Dante Moore threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Ducks rolled up a 34-6 halftime lead. What were Chesney’s big takeaways from that experience?

“That there are no weaknesses in this team,” Chesney said of Oregon. “And if you leave them something to expose, they will expose it.”

The teams have formed a mutual admiration society over the last week, with Oregon coach Dan Lanning gushing about Chesney’s offer to check on Moore in the hospital after the quarterback sustained a concussion against USC.

Lanning went on to compare Chesney’s Bruins to the 2025 Indiana Hoosiers – the undefeated national champion that Chesney said was one of the greatest teams in college football history.

“We’re not there yet,” Chesney conceded.

What the Bruins are is a team that features one of the best run games in the country. UCLA ranks fourth nationally by averaging 281.5 yards per game on the ground, giving Chesney a weapon that exceeds what he had at James Madison last season.

“There’s a lot of new things we’re doing as well and really just taking it to another level, which I think is good,” Chesney said. “But I also think that the manpower we have and the depth we have is certainly something that stands out.”

If the uber-talented Knight needs a breather, the Bruins can turn to equally explosive Anthony Woods or Jaivian Thomas. The team also rotates 10 offensive linemen, allowing them to exert maximum effort on every play and wear down opponents by the fourth quarter.

In practices this week, those linemen have been working on silent cadence while getting an earful – from speakers placed near quarterback Nico Iamaleava to simulate crowd noise at Autzen Stadium.

“They kind of just run up, put a speaker right behind Nico and turn it up all the way,” offensive tackle Hall Schmidt said. “He has to yell the play to us and the speaker will kind of drift a little closer toward the line of scrimmage and then back out as soon as we snap the ball.”

UCLA’s defense is preparing for both Moore and backup Dylan Raiola, who guided the Ducks to a breathless 41-37 victory over USC before having a bye last week.

“There’s not a giant drop off between the two of those guys,” Chesney said. “They’re both really, really good.”

The same could be said for Chesney’s Bruins, who might be able to keep climbing in the rankings if they can eliminate the shortcomings they displayed against the Ducks 10 months ago.

“They found the matchups they liked and they put the ball on the perimeter and at the same point in time, were able to just expose a couple things downfield,” Chesney said. “We weren’t quite as fast as we are right now.”