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The UCLA Bruins have been called the next Indiana Hoosiers and a dark-horse team in college football.
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Indiana hired a head coach from James Madison, Curt Cignetti, who turned their program around in his first season and went on to win a national title in his second. The Bruins hired former James Madison head coach Bob Chesney, who, like Cignetti, wasn’t known to many college football fans.
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In Year 1, Chesney has already turned around UCLA, and they are dark horses in the Big Ten but could become playoff contenders on Saturday.
UCLA will go on the road to play the Oregon Ducks in a massive game in the Big Ten. The Ducks are one of the top teams in the country, despite the loss to Oklahoma State earlier this season.
Oregon is starting backup quarterback Dylan Raiola, who was a starter at Nebraska for two seasons and is a top-end quarterback. So, the Ducks offense should be flying and hard to stop.
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UCLA, meanwhile, is led by quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who is solid and in his second year with the Bruins. Iamaleava has thrown for 820 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, but UCLA will need him to be even better to beat Oregon.
The Bruins are a physical team under Chesney who will compete for all 60 minutes. UCLA’s defense has had mixed results, but they will need to have the best game of their season to beat Oregon.
If UCLA wins, the Bruins will solidify themselves as a legit contender, and the talk of them being the next Indiana will be for real. The Bruins also have a very easy schedule to end the year, as they don’t have to play Ohio State or Indiana, but they do host USC.
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A win here puts an undefeated season and a playoff berth very much in play. So, the stakes are high to see if the Bruins can live up to the talk of them being the next Indiana.
UCLA, Bob Chesney Drawing Comparisons to Indiana
After UCLA hired Chesney, many wondered if he would have immediate success as Cignetti did.
So far, UCLA is looking like the real deal, and even Dan Lanning said he’s getting Indiana vibes from the Bruins.
“We’re about to play a UCLA team that reminds me a lot of Indiana from last year … And let’s just be honest, we’re not remotely close to what we need to be,” said Lanning. “We can’t spend a week talking about (the last) game.”
Chesney was asked about Lanning’s comments and didn’t think much about it, as he knows there is more work to be done.
“It’s nice, I guess,” Chesney said. “Ultimately, I know the work that still needs to be done at this moment.”
If UCLA upsets Oregon, the comparison to Indiana and Cignetti will only grow, so this week’s game could be a program-defining one for the Bruins.
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This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 11:33 AM.