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UCLA football’s 4-0 start has forced college football to take notice. Last week, Oregon coach Dan Lanning compared the Bruins to last year’s national champion, Indiana.
“We’re about to play a UCLA team that reminds me a lot of Indiana from last year,” Lanning said of the Ducks’ upcoming matchup this Saturday. “They have a lot of players that came with them [from James Madison], and again, why I draw some comparisons to Indiana, a lot of guys that traveled with their coach right to the next stop.”
First-year Bruins coach Bob Chesney, who succeeded Indiana coach Curt Cignetti at James Madison, is following a similar blueprint. Cignetti took a combined 20 players and coaches from James Madison to Indiana in 2024 and led the Hoosiers to a College Football Playoff appearance in his first season before winning the national title in his second. Chesney took 17 combined players and coaches from Harrisonburg to Los Angeles. And while the Playoff talk might be premature, he has led UCLA to a No. 21 ranking through five weeks.
Aside from Chesney’s arrival, UCLA’s quick turnaround is in large part due to an increase in spending, starting with its head coach. Last year, UCLA paid head coach DeShaun Foster and coordinators Tino Sunseri and Ikaika Malloe a combined salary of $5.4 million. Chesney’s salary averages $6.75 million per year alone. His assistants will make a total of $17.3 million. For reference, UCLA paid its entire coaching staff across every sport a combined $32.6 million during the 2025 fiscal year. Of that, football only covered $9.5 million.
Now, UCLA will play No. 13 Oregon in its first ranked vs. ranked matchup since 2023, while in search of its first signature win under Chesney.
A Complete Overhaul
UCLA fired athletic director Martin Jarmond in August amid a large debt accumulation; the Bruins’ athletics program has recorded seven consecutive years of financial deficit. According to its FY 2025 report, UCLA’s total $55.2 million football spending ranked sixth among the Big Ten’s 18 schools. However, the investments in the football program didn’t match. UCLA’s $13.5 million in donor contributions toward football was 14th in the conference, well short of the $34.1 million league median.
The football program quickly surpassed that figure early in 2026. A $9.6 million donation from late alumnus Lawrence Layne in January and $10 million from Angelo Mazzone III in April provided nearly $20 million to spend.
The football reconstruction began when Chesney was hired, highlighted by an influx of support staff members. The Bruins hired eight new staffers in their recruiting department led by general manager Derrick Yray, who received a significant pay increase to leave the same role at Florida State. On the coaching side, UCLA’s 2026 roster lists 15 full-time assistant coaches, three more than last season. Additionally, the Bruins hired nine additional coaches in analysts/quality-control roles. In total, the football program has 65 employees, a more than 50% increase from the year before.
Tangible and immediate improvement in talent acquisition quickly followed. Following Chesney’s hiring, UCLA signed the No. 11 transfer portal class, according to On3, a group that includes the Bruins’ leading rusher Wayne Knight (James Madison), leading wide receiver Semaj Morgan (Michigan), and leading tackler Sammy Omosigho (Oklahoma).
The future appears bright as well. UCLA’s 2027 recruiting class currently ranks 17th nationally according to Rivals. As it stands, it would be the program’s highest-ranked class since 2016.
“I think after I met Coach Chesney, I knew what he was about and the winning programs he has been with,” quarterback Nico Iamaleava said after UCLA’s win over Maryland. “I knew he was going to bring in some great character guys that want to win.”
High Stakes
This Saturday’s matchup between No. 21 UCLA and No. 13 Oregon carries major Playoff implications.
The Bruins only have one ranked opponent on their schedule after Oregon, which is the last game of the season against rival No. 19 USC. A win over the Ducks would propel the Bruins into a very favorable position with a manageable schedule remaining.
For Oregon, a win would give the Ducks back-to-back ranked wins and a favorable position in the Big Ten standings following a sluggish start to the season, which included a 39–31 loss to Oklahoma State in Week 2. No. 5 Ohio State is the only other team that is currently ranked remaining on Oregon’s schedule.
This is Chesney’s second matchup against Oregon in as many years. He led James Madison to a College Football Playoff game at Oregon last season, a 51–34 win for the Ducks. There’s also some history at stake for UCLA: the Bruins haven’t won a road game at Oregon since 2004.
