UCLA has arrived. Bruins make College Football Playoff statement with win at Oregon
UCLA has arrived. Bruins make College Football Playoff statement with win at Oregon
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAYSat, October 10, 2026 at 11:20 PM UTC
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Bob Chesney has completed turned around UCLA with a statement win at Oregon that turns Bruins into College Football Playoff hopefuls.
The last time Bob Chesney walked off the field at Autzen Stadium, it marked the end of his two years at James Madison as he was about to embark on a new era at UCLA.
Then 294 days later, he welcomed the start of a new era in Los Angeles on the very same field in emphatic fashion.
UCLA officially arrived with a statement 17-15 victory over Oregon, the first signature moment of the Chesney era as the remarkable turnaround continues for the Bruins.
If you didn’t board the Chesney hype train then, better get on it right now – the Bruins have their eyes set on the College Football Playoff.
And he did it by doing something you rarely see: making Oregon look ugly – on its own field.
The Ducks rocked their Origin of Speed uniforms for the occasion but there was nothing fast nor flashy coming from the Ducks. For nearly 60 minutes, Oregon looked like it didn’t belong on the field.
Dylan Raiola, who came in for the injured Dante Moore against Southern California and sparked the major victory over the Trojans, looked less like one of the best backups in the country and more like what you’d see out of a guy that can’t meet the moment.
He was just 6-for-19 with 43 yards and two interceptions before he got benched in the third quarter. Third-stringer Brock Thomas was able to make it a game late, but it wasn't enough for a late comeback.
Even though UCLA couldn’t get out of its own way and kept the Ducks around longer than they should’ve, including three bad turnovers from injured quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the Bruins outmuscled, outran and simply outplayed Oregon.
The vaunted UCLA rushing attack didn’t have an explosive day, but they did the job – all led by the James Madison transfer Wayne Knight. The running back added to his touchdown total with a 35-yard score and then a touchdown catch from backup Ty Dieffenbach that was just enough to get ahead of Oregon.
If you didn’t believe this is a different UCLA team before, you better understand now.
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Autzen Stadium had been a horror house for UCLA in the past two decades. The Bruins hadn’t won there since 2004 and had lost 16 of the past 19 meetings against the Ducks, including five straight. Whenever it felt like UCLA could be on the cusp of turning a corner, there was Oregon to kill those dreams.
Now in 2026, UCLA has returned the favor.
Oregon turned the ball over six times, the most it has committed in a game in 20 years, and scored just 15 points, the fewest at home in the Dan Lanning era. The Ducks were unable to convert a third or fourth down conversion.
By all means, UCLA put Oregon’s playoff hopes on life support while launching its own into the stratosphere. In what was one of the toughest games on the Bruins’ schedule, UCLA looks like it could realistically run the table the rest of the way.
Does a turnaround from the dumpster to playoff sound familiar? There’s a reason Lanning compared this team to national championship winning Indiana last season. Are the Bruins suddenly title contenders? Not surefire, but they are proving they can compete for it.
Ahead of the matchup, Chesney and a few of the former James Madison players that were on that Dukes team in 2025 were asked about what they learned playing in Eugene, Oregon last season, and if anything would be different this time around.
Defensive back Derrick Barksdale said you could call it a rematch, but it was “a new year and it's a new team” trying to take another major step.
“We have a different caliber athlete now at Big Ten,” he said. “I feel like we match up perfectly fine.”
Turns out he was right. They matched up more than fine with a statement that will reverberate as loud as the 8 Clap coming out of Los Angeles.
UCLA has arrived, and the Chesney train is rolling to new heights.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UCLA has arrived. Bruins make College Football Playoff statement with win at Oregon
Source: “AOL Sports”
