Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Oct 24, 2026; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Bob Chesney looks on during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans at the Rose Bowl.
Not even the most optimistic of UCLA Bruins football fans – as few as there may be – would have imagined back in August that first-year head coach Bob Chesney would have his team at 9-0 in November and with a good shot at making the College Football Playoff.
But that’s exactly where the fourth-ranked Bruins, led by an explosive offense featuring star running back Wayne Knight, find themselves heading into the final three games of the season.
UCLA could well be favored in all three of those games, starting tonight against Illinois and then continuing with matchups against Michigan and USC. But even two wins in the last three games will likely be enough to get the Bruins into the playoff.
So, how did they get here? It’s simpler than you may think.
Bob Chesney Made UCLA Players Clean Up Their Act Off The Field To Win On It
Chesney, who comes from humble beginnings in small-town Pennsylvania, had to climb his way up the coaching ladder. He began his career as a graduate assistant at Division III Norwich, and got his first head coaching job in DIII with Salve Regina in 2010.
“You don’t have to do anything else, just stop leaving the locker room a mess,” Chesney first told his team, per Scott Dochetmann of The Athletic.” Stop leaving the weight room in a mess. Stop talking down to people. Stop missing class. Stop being late to everything. You just stop all these things; all of a sudden, you’ll find yourself in a pretty good spot.”
Chesney’s point: the way you do anything is the way you do everything, and to win at the highest levels, it takes everybody.
“One of the first things I did is making sure our players understood those people that are there to help with our lunches and dinners. They’re not there to serve you, but they’re there to do a job,” he said. “They’re someone’s mother, someone’s sister, someone’s father, someone’s cousin, someone’s brother, and you got to treat them that way, like they’re yours.”
Coincidentally, this is a similar approach to the one shared by Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, who preceded Chesney at James Madison and had immediate, unexpected success in Bloomington.
Perhaps it’s nothing. But it sure seems as if Chesney is onto something here, and the proof is in the pudding.