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UCLA Bruins

Game Information

Week: 3

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026

Location: Pasadena, California

Time: 11 PM EDT

TV: Big 10 Network

Head Coach – Bob Chesney

Seasons at School (as head coach): 0

Coaching Record at School: 0-0

Overall Coaching Record: 132-52

Salve Regina (23-9)

Assumption (44-16)

Holy Cross (44-21)

James Madison (21-6)

2025 Results

Overall Record: 3-9

Conference Record: 3-6

Utah: L – 10-43

UNLV: L – 23-30

New Mexico: L – 10-35

Northwestern: L – 14-17

(7) Penn State: W – 42-37

Michigan State: W – 38-13

Maryland: W – 20-17

(2) Indiana: L – 6-56

Nebraska: L – 21-28

(1) Ohio State: L – 10-48

Washington: L – 14-48

(19) USC: L – 10-29

2025 Stat Leaders

Offense

Passing Yards: Nico Iamaleava – 1928 (Returning)

Touchdown Passes: Nico Iamaleava – 13

Rushing Yards: Nico Iameleava – 505

Rushing Touchdowns: Nico Iamaleava – 4

Receiving Yards: Kwazi Gilmer – 535 (Transferred to Nebraska)

Receiving Touchdowns: Kwazi Gilmer – 4

Total Touchdowns: Nico Iamaleava, Jalen Berger (Graduated), Kwazi Gilmer – 4

Defense

Tackles: JonJon Vaughns – 107 (Graduated)

Sacks: Jalen Woods (Returning), Anthony Jones (Transferred to Nebraska) – 1.5

Tackles for Loss: JonJon Vaughns – 6

Interceptions: Scooter Jackson (Returning) – 2

2026 Key Players

Offense

Quarterback: Nico Iamaleava

Offensive line: Eugene Brooks (LG)

Running back: Wayne Knight

Wide Receiver / Tight End: Landon Ellis

Defense

Defensive Line: Sahir West

Linebacker: Sammy Omosigho

Secondary: Rodrick Pleasant

2026 Media Predictions

14th out of 18 Big 10 Teams

My Thoughts

This one is winnable, and if Purdue harbors postseason aspirations, they need to win it. UCLA looks a good bit like Purdue last season, except they have an established quarterback in Nico Iamaleava. Bob Chesney takes the reins after building his coaching career from the bottom up. The former James Madison coach has won everywhere he’s been, but this will be his biggest challenge. The Bruins are currently hot on the recruiting trail, but that won’t help them in this game. The offensive line, in particular, could be a significant issue for the Bruins, who will most likely start returner Eugen Brooks and four transfers. According to my buddy Hythloday1 at Addicted to Quack (Oregon’s SB Nation site), teams replacing 3 or more offensive linemen struggle, even if they upgrade talent. That doesn’t bode well for the Boilermakers either, but this isn’t a Purdue preview.

Former 5* Tennessee transfer Nico Iamaleava is the headliner. He led a terrible UCLA team in pretty much every offensive category last season, while not being particularly good. He has all the requisite physical skills, but decision-making and consistency have been issues throughout his career. The Bruins are in the midst of a massive rebuild and hope Nico can keep them from bottoming out. I’m skeptical, but I get the hope. If you put together an Iamaleava highlight film, it would look elite. If he gets hot, he can win a game by himself, but those hot streaks have been few and far between. His best performance last season came in UCLA’s shocking upset of Penn State. He threw for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Boilermakers need to keep him in the pocket and not lose contain with their pass rush.

All-purpose back Wayne Knight, a transfer from James Madison, should be the other playmaker in this offense. He ran for 1,373 yards and 9 touchdowns and brought in 40 receptions for 397 yards and a touchdown. He was a second-team All-American for the Dukes last season, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he leads UCLA in rushing yards and receptions in 2026 if he can handle that type of workload at 5’7”, 190 pounds. He’ll be Nico’s security blanket out of the backfield in the screen game and dump-offs, but teams will challenge Knight’s ability to pick up the blitz in obvious passing downs. He could be a problem for everyone in the Big 10, including Purdue.

The defense was another gut job for Coach Chesney and will most likely start an entirely retooled defensive line. Sahir West, another James Madison transfer, was considered one of the top 10 edge rushers in the portal. He’s a load at 6’3”, 280 and can move around the defensive line hunting matchups. If he likes the edge matchup, he’ll play defensive end; if he thinks he can beat one of the guards, he’ll slide inside and play as a 3-tech defensive tackle. Purdue’s line will have to keep a close eye on him and have a plan to get an extra hat on him, regardless of where he lines up.

The secondary should be the strength of the defense with three returners from last season’s squad, including both starting corners in Rodrick Pleasant and Scooter Jackson. It may be easier to move the ball on the ground early in the season while the front seven are still trying to figure things out. Granted, Purdue’s offense will also still be trying to figure things out, but the Boilermaker coaches seem to be talking up their dedication to the run game at the start of camp. Hopefully that dedication follows them to the West Coast for this game.

Like I said, this game is winnable, and if Purdue is going to poach a road victory, this might be their best opportunity. For the first time in what feels like forever, the schedule was slightly kind to the Boilermakers in this one. I’d rather play this UCLA early in the season than late, when they have more experience in Chesney’s system.

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