UCLA

8-0

Program prestige

Zeitgeist statureNational Program I#19 all-time▲ climbing
one line from Power Program III

Stature and coaches, 1936–2026

The program’s standing over time, with every coach’s tenure beneath it — read down to see who was there for each rise and fall.

UCLA is National Program today. Never reached Dynasty tier; Power Program is its high, most recently in 2024.

1936: National Program1937: National Program1938: National Program1939: National Program1940: National Program1941: National Program1942: National Program1943: National Program1944: National Program1945: National Program1946: National Program1947: National Program1948: National Program1949: National Program1950: National Program1951: National Program1952: Power Program1953: Power Program1954: Power Program1955: Power Program1956: Power Program1957: Power Program1958: Power Program1959: Power Program1960: Power Program1961: Power Program1962: Power Program1963: Power Program1964: National Program1965: Power Program1966: Power Program1967: Power Program1968: Power Program1969: Power Program1970: Power Program1971: Power Program1972: Power Program1973: Power Program1974: Power Program1975: Power Program1976: Power Program1977: Power Program1978: Power Program1979: Power Program1980: Power Program1981: Power Program1982: Power Program1983: Power Program1984: Power Program1985: Power Program1986: Power Program1987: Power Program1988: Power Program1989: Power Program1990: Power Program1991: Power Program1992: Power Program1993: Power Program1994: Power Program1995: Power Program1996: Power Program1997: Power Program1998: Power Program1999: Power Program2000: Power Program2001: Power Program2002: Power Program2003: Power Program2004: Power Program2005: Power Program2006: Power Program2007: Power Program2008: National Program2009: National Program2010: National Program2011: National Program2012: National Program2013: National Program2014: Power Program2015: Power Program2016: Power Program2017: Power Program2018: National Program2019: National Program2020: National Program2021: National Program2022: National Program2023: National Program2024: Power Program2025: National Program2026: National Program19401960198020002020
DynastyBlue BloodPower ProgramNational ProgramRegional Program

Run↔pass identity, by season

No play-by-play coverage before 2004more passmore run200420062008201020122014201620182020202220242026

Every coach, tenure by tenure, on the coaching page →

Program outlook

Program outlook

UCLA plays its home games in the Rose Bowl and recruits a talent base that programs in the midwest would trade their practice facilities for. It has produced Troy Aikman, and it has not won a conference title since 1998. Then came an 0-3 start, a fired coach, and a transfer quarterback who dragged the season back from the floor.

Since Jun 14: W 17-15 at Oregon; W 17-7 vs Wisconsin; W 28-10 vs Michigan State; W 27-0 vs Nevada. 8-0 this season.

Read the full essay — 3 more paragraphs

The gap between what UCLA has and what it has produced is the program's whole story. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena. An NFL alumni list that includes Hall of Famers. One of the richest recruiting footprints in the country — the most concentrated talent corridor in the sport sits within driving distance of practice. Terry Donahue's teams ran that back into Rose Bowls for a decade. That was the 1980s. The program has been searching for the version of itself that matches the address ever since.

The 2025 season was the latest installment of the same story, with a specific new wrinkle. DeShaun Foster went 0-3 in September and was dismissed after 15 games as head coach. Nico Iamaleava — the Tennessee transfer who arrived from a 2025 NIL standoff that made national news — took over under interim Tim Skipper and ran the offense to life, earning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and announcing he would return for 2026. Bob Chesney, fresh off a 12-1 Sun Belt championship season at James Madison, came in as the new head coach. The offseason math: a legitimate quarterback, a proven developer, the same address it has always had.

The 2026 question is whether the combination of Chesney and Iamaleava finally bridges the gap the program has never closed. Chesney at James Madison built an overachiever on less. The theory is that the same model with more — the recruiting footprint, the brand, the stadium — produces a different ceiling. UCLA has offered that theory before. What it has not offered yet is proof.

On the field

LA cool with blue-blood bones — the Bruins operate in a pro-style system with room for the quarterback to operate, suited to the high-end skill talent the Southern California market produces. Bob Chesney's James Madison offense was built around tempo and execution over athleticism gap, which will face its first real test against Big Ten defensive lines. The Rose Bowl plays big and fast; the identity Chesney is building is built to match it.

Program outlook · as of Jun 14, 2026

UCLA has won 1 national title since 1936

195419401960198020002020

1954

How titles are counted

The final AP poll from 1936 and the Coaches poll from 1950 through 2005, then the winner of the BCS and College Football Playoff title games. A program may claim others, named by selectors we do not count.

  • 1954: Coaches poll

UCLA has won 58% of its games since 1925 — 65% at home, 49% on the road.

631-428-31 all-time · 102 seasons · 1925–2026

Home 383-187-15
Away 230-221-15
Neutral 18-20-1
40% 1920s
55% 1930s
47% 1940s
70% 1950s
58% 1960s
62% 1970s
69% 1980s
60% 1990s
54% 2000s
50% 2010s
57% 2020s
The era · 2014 through 2026

The CFP era

13 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.

Era record 79-73 13 seasons
Best season 10-3 2014
Top-10 finishes 1 AP polled only
Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program quality AP rank (inverted) CFP appearance
'14'16'18'20'22'24Now

Swipe left for earlier seasons

Chapters · 13 seasons · tap to open the archive
'14 10-3 '15 8-5 '16 4-8 '17 6-7 '18 3-9 '19 4-8 '20 — '21 8-4 '22 9-4 '23 8-5 '24 5-7 '25 3-9 '26 8-0

UCLA’s 2014–2026 record is 79-73.

Era win %
.519
Ranked seasons (AP)
8/13
Best AP finish
#5

Bob Chesney

Bob Chesney took over from Tim Skipper (interim) for the 2026 season.

Era Bob Chesney · 2026–presentPrev: Tim Skipper (interim) (2025)OC: Dean KennedyPrev OC: Tino Sunseri (interim) (2025)DC: Colin HitschlerPrev DC: Ikaika Malloe (2024–2025)
The full CFP-era story →The full coaching lineage →
1 year · era

UCLA and USC, meeting by meeting

USC leads the series 54-34-7 (since 1929); in the last 10 meetings, UCLA is 3-7

evenUCLA aheadUSC ahead19401960198020002020

2025: USC won 29-10. After this game, USC led 54-34-7.

Last 25 meetings: ▲ UCLA won, ▼ USC won, by how much

2001: USC won 27-02002: USC won 52-212003: USC won 47-222004: USC won 29-242005: USC won 66-192006: UCLA won 13-92007: USC won 24-72008: USC won 28-72009: USC won 28-72010: USC won 28-142011: USC won 50-02012: UCLA won 38-282013: UCLA won 35-142014: UCLA won 38-202015: USC won 40-212016: USC won 36-142017: USC won 28-232018: UCLA won 34-272019: USC won 52-352020: USC won 43-382021: UCLA won 62-332022: USC won 48-452023: UCLA won 38-202024: USC won 19-132025: USC won 29-102011: by 5020012025

Each step is one meeting: up when UCLA wins, down when USC wins, flat for a tie. Counts every game in our records since 1929. Tap the line for any season.

UCLA in History

Moments in UCLA history

What this program never forgets

Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.

1988

The Gutty Little Bruins era

Donahue's nationally ranked, Rose Bowl-winning teams

2024

The Big Ten move

UCLA leaves the Pac-12 for the Big Ten — cross-country realignment that reshaped the program's identity

Wound

2025

The Foster firing

An 0-3 start gets the second-year coach dismissed after 15 games

Heartbreak

Moment of the year · 2026

Won 17-15 at Oregon

Week 6 of 2026. Beat a top-13 opponent on the road.

Upset · was a 10-point underdogvs AP #13
2022–2025

UCLA has sent 17 players to the NFL Draft since 2022 — one of them in the first round.

Strong. 1 first-round picks. Recruits with NFL ambitions notice.

17 picks · 1 in round 1
#15 Laiatu Latu Defensive Edge · 2024 · Indianapolis Colts · #1/418 final season
#33 Carson Schwesinger Linebacker · 2025 · Cleveland Browns · #7/571 final season
#52 Oluwafemi Oladejo Defensive Edge · 2025 · Tennessee Titans · #450/578 final season
#18 all-time · 34 first-round picksthe talent factory →

More in this tab

Ladder finishHow far up the ladder this season got.

Season standing · 2026 · 8-0 · CFP #8 / AP #5

UCLA is 8th in the CFP poll at 8-0 — a top-15 team.

Top 15 nationally. NY6-bowl conversation.

Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
ConferenceWhere this team sits in this season's conference standings.

Big Ten standing · 2026

1st in the Big Ten

UCLA sits at the top of the Big Ten at 5-0. Everyone else is chasing.

#ProgramRecord
1UCLA5-0
2Indiana5-1
3Ohio State4-1
4USC4-2
5Illinois3-2
6Iowa3-2
7Minnesota3-2
8Northwestern3-2
9Oregon3-2
10Wisconsin3-2
11Michigan2-3
12Nebraska2-3
13Purdue2-3
14Washington2-3
15Penn State1-4
16Rutgers1-4
17Maryland0-5
18Michigan State0-5
Coaching historyCurrent head coach Bob Chesney, hired 2026

Coaching history

  • Hired Bob Chesney2026
  • Hired Tim Skipper (interim)2025
  • Deshaun Foster departs5-10, 2 seasons
  • Tim Skipper departs (interim)3-6, 1 season
  • Hired Deshaun Foster2024
  • Chip Kelly departs35-34, 6 seasons
  • Hired Chip Kelly2018
  • Hired Jedd Fisch2017
Coordinator lineageOffense and defense under each coordinator.

UCLA’s offense and defense, by coordinator

FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.

Offense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014–2015 · Noel Mazzone2016 · Kennedy Polamalu2017 · Jedd Fisch2018 · Chip Kelly2019–2021 · Justin Frye2022 · Chip Kelly2024 · Eric Bieniemy2025 · Tino Sunseri (interim)2026 · Dean Kennedy
Defense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014 · Jeff Ulbrich2015–2017 · Tom Bradley2018–2021 · Jerry Azzinaro2022 · Bill McGovern2023 · D'Anton Lynn2024–2025 · Ikaika Malloe2026 · Colin Hitschler
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customsThe gameday customs unique to this program.

Rituals

Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.

The Eight Clap

since 1948

more

Coordinated 8-beat clap — '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, U-C-L-A!' Pioneered by UCLA cheer in 1948. Carried by alumni to NBA arenas, road games, Olympic events. The most-traveled cheer in CFB; sometimes outnumbers home-team cheers in road stadiums.

Pauley Pavilion / Rose Bowl Crossover

since 1985

more

UCLA football plays in the Rose Bowl 30 miles from campus. UCLA basketball plays in Pauley on campus. The geographic awkwardness IS part of the program's identity — Saturday in Pasadena, Saturday night back in Westwood. The 2-venue rhythm shapes the fan experience.

Joe Bruin Mascot

since 1949

more

Joe Bruin (and Josephine Bruin from 1965) — the bear mascots. The 1949-era costumes are now museum pieces. Joe interacts with fans through the entire game; sometimes appears at Hollywood premieres.

Cultural identityWhat college football loses if this program didn't exist.
Canon appearancesMoments that made college football's permanent record.

Featured in The Canon

#91
Laiatu Latu
The 100 Best Players of the CFP Era
Browse The Canon →
BowlsLast 5 bowls 2-3, 16-16 since 1975

Recent postseason (1975-2023): 16-16

Most recent: 2023 LA Bowl — win 22-35. Last 5 postseason: 2-3.

2023 W2022 L2017 L2015 L2014 W
Reddit blowupsThe plays that blew up on r/CFB.

r/CFB moments

3.2k
[Postgame Thread] UCLA Defeats LSU 38-27
Sep 2021 · r/CFB
2.4k
[Postgame Thread] USC Defeats UCLA 48-45
Nov 2022 · r/CFB
2.3k
[Postgame Thread] UCLA Defeats USC 38-20
Nov 2023 · r/CFB
1.5k
[Postgame Thread] UCLA Defeats USC 62-33
Nov 2021 · r/CFB

All-time top community posts

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