I’m not sure how to approach this edition of the Eye Test, if I am being honest.
Let’s start by setting the stage: the UCLA Bruins went up to Eugene, Oregon, a place that has been the stuff of nightmares for the better part of the 21st century, and beat the Ducks 17-15 to continue their undefeated run through the 2026 season. The game was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, with a combined 10 turnovers in the game speaking to the general sloppiness on display. UCLA also lost its starting quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, midway through the game, which we now know to be a season-ending injury.
Yet the Bruins won, and the magical ride gets to continue.
I’m still not sure what to make of this game, because on the one hand, UCLA should have blown Oregon out of the water. When a team has seven turnovers, and you hold a 241-58 yardage advantage at halftime, that should never result in a game where you need a late stop on a two-point conversion attempt to seal a win. On the other hand, UCLA was facing a team with a clear talent advantage and did not blink, getting all the small edges required to pull off an upset.
I think this game, and the aftermath, showed that UCLA likely does have a ceiling and isn’t a real national championship contender, but they also have a floor that should be able to carry them into the conversation for the playoffs. What seemed impossible prior to the season now feels like an attainable goal.
Let’s get into it.
Offense
Quarterback: C-
Look, Nico’s injury is going to loom large over the rest of the season, which makes it hard to accurately grade him in this game. The last interception he threw seemed partially due to that injury, as he wasn’t able to step into the throw with any sort of power and instead tried to loft it down the field, which is a recipe for disaster. Still, if we are going to be fair and judge his performance, then we must note that Nico’s play helped Oregon stay in this game. His fumble was inexcusable and not something that should be happening in Year Four of a quarterback’s career, especially one with as much experience as Nico. The first interception was solid defensive design from Oregon, but Nico locked in on that option and was determined to throw to it. Add in some bad passes where Nico decided to zip the pass instead of using some touch, and the fact that he’s still getting balls tipped at the line due to poor mechanics on his throw, and you have a quarterback who played almost as poorly as his Oregon counterpart, with the injury being the largest reason why his poor performance isn’t getting more notice.
I’m also not going to say Ty Dieffenbach is an upgrade over Nico, because in the grand scheme of things he isn’t, but in this game Nico was already getting close to pull territory, so Dieffenbach’s ability to just be steady and limit mistakes was crucial. It allowed UCLA to capitalize on Raiola’s second and last interception and turn it into a touchdown, as he calmly hit a few passes to complement the rushing attack and nailed the pass into the flat that Nico had missed on the first drive of the game.
Again, I will state that Dieffenbach is not a perfect replacement for Nico Iamaleava, and UCLA’s offense is going to be in an adjustment period going forward, but he does give the team the closest approximation of what Nico could do. We’ll see if that is enough.
Offensive Line: C+
This was the first (and maybe only) game where the offensive line was clearly outmatched from a talent perspective, and I felt the line generally held up. Now, it wasn’t perfect, and the line really struggled to open up holes with any consistency, but in watching the replay, I didn’t see anything that stood out as a major problem. The breakdowns came in large part due to an Oregon player making a good individual play.
That’s good news overall, because UCLA is not going to face another team with the talent that Oregon has in the regular season. Sure, they may have one or two elite guys, but Oregon is loaded along that defensive line, and the UCLA offensive linemen generally held up.
Overall: C+
Look, some of the problems for UCLA in this game were that Oregon played exceptionally clean on defense. That is to say, if there was a tackle that needed to be made, the Oregon defender was likely to make it. There were so many plays where it looked like a big hole had been opened up and the UCLA running back had one man to beat, only for that one man to make a textbook tackle to stop the play after a few yards. I don’t think UCLA will play a defense the rest of the way that played to this level.
But beyond that, UCLA had too many mistakes, especially at quarterback, to really give a positive grade here. The Bruins should have scored more, yet they kept having execution issues, and when the game has such small margins as this one did, that can cost you.
Defense
Run Defense: A
Pass Defense: A-
Overall: A-
Through three quarters in Autzen Stadium, the Oregon Ducks had amassed 89 yards of offense, with 46 coming on the ground while 43 came through the air. They had gone 0-8 on third-down attempts, were averaging 2.4 yards per play, and had only held the ball for 13:43 of game time compared to 31:17 for UCLA. Oh yeah, and the Ducks had five turnovers up to that point.
The first three quarters were some of the best defensive football UCLA has played in the 21st century; maybe only 13-9 can truly compare. It wasn’t just that the Bruins looked like they knew what play Oregon was going to run before the Ducks even snapped the ball, but that they proceeded to tackle and defend the play as well. I said it above, but if you’re a fan of defensive football, then this game was a treasure trove of great film from both teams, with guys hitting form tackle after form tackle and rarely letting up.
…I know I said rarely letting up….
The fourth quarter was…interesting. Oregon doubled-up their yardage in the 4th quarter alone, putting up 183 yards. The switch to Brock Thomas didn’t seem to cause any initial issues, but the Bruins started making mistakes late, from some penalties (including one incredibly bad roughing the passer call) to some poor angles, which allowed Oregon to get things going in a hurry. It did not help that UCLA went into a shell offensively once they took a two-score lead in the 4th quarter, but given the level of play they showed up to that point, you would have hoped the defense would close out strong.
Still, if you had told me before the game that UCLA held Oregon to 272 yards, including less than 80 on the ground, I wouldn’t have believed you. This unit is legitimately good, and they can hopefully continue this momentum going forward.
Special Teams
Overall: D
Rough day for the special teams unit. Mateen Bhaghani got one of his field goal attempts blocked, while the punt coverage unit struggled a bit (Oregon was even able to pull off a fake punt returner gambit with some success). I also wasn’t a fan of how many punts UCLA let roll, as it cost them a good amount of yards. I always expect Dan Lanning special teams to be good, as it’s a place they tend to steal advantages from, so I guess I will credit UCLA for not getting completely sunk here, but this unit needs to improve more in the coming weeks.
Coaching
Offensive Gameplan: B+
I think you can give the second half a push grade given the circumstances of losing Nico, but even then I don’t think Dean Kennedy did anything wrong in how he attacked Oregon. UCLA had a lot of smart play calls and would have scored more if not for the combination of Nico playing poorly and Oregon making good defensive plays. I know the joke during the Deshaun Foster era was that if the players simply executed the gameplan, UCLA would be fine, but in this case it really would have helped if the execution had been better.
Defensive Gameplan: A
I mean, come on.
Colin Hitschler treated Oregon’s offense like an open-book test, and it was uncanny how many times it looked like UCLA’s defenders knew the Oregon play call and were waiting for it in the correct position. There really was nothing the Ducks could do for most of this game, which was a credit to how well Hitschler and crew scouted and gameplanned.
I said after the Purdue game that it would hopefully be a wakeup call to this group that they needed to step their game up at this level, and that sure seems to be playing out. UCLA has pitched two impressive defensive performances after that debacle, to the point that the Purdue game looks more and more like an aberration. The new worry for UCLA will be how much it will take to keep Hitschler around for another season, because he seems destined for either a coordinator spot at a top 5 program or a head coaching job somewhere (hey, James Madison might open up soon!).
Overall: A
This one is a more emotional grade than anything that played out on the field, because if we’re being honest, Bob Chesney did not outcoach Dan Lanning on Saturday. Lanning may have gotten too cute with his early two-point attempt, but there were multiple spots where Lanning was able to steal a few extra yards or some time. The fake returner stands out as one spot, as does the intentional offsides to give UCLA a first down without wasting time, allowing Oregon to get an extra 40+ seconds on the clock at the end of the game. Say what you will about Lanning’s bluster, but the dude can coach.
No, Bob Chesney won this game in the previous week of practice. He won it in the bye week, and during the first four games. He won this game during the fall camp and during summer workouts and spring football. He won this game with the culture he imprinted on the program, with the passion and belief that has been instilled in each and every player that they can and should win every game. Just watch this week’s Bruin Tape for what I’m talking about:
You can tell that team what their star rankings coming out of high school were. You can tell them that Oregon is not an easy place to play, or that Vegas believed them to be double-digit underdogs. You can tell them that they don’t belong.
You can tell that team those things, and they’ll just laugh in your face. They’ll probably punch you in the face as well for even daring to suggest that they aren’t the best.
This UCLA team, not any of the other highly ranked or rated ones in the past, went into Oregon and was the physically dominant team. This UCLA team was not going to quit, and even when things started slipping away at the end, they refused to roll over. This UCLA team looked at that crowd dancing to Otis Day & the Knights and said “no, that’s our song now.” This UCLA team is 5-0, has a signature win, and even after losing their starting quarterback, has people saying “yeah, but they’ll find a way to keep it rolling.”
That’s the Bob Chesney effect, and that’s why this grade is an A.
Trending
Trend: Up, but with some trepidition
Look, UCLA went to Oregon and emerged undefeated, so there was no way this grade wasn’t going to say the Bruins weren’t trending up, but this is the part where I pump the brakes a bit.
Losing your starting quarterback and emotional leader isn’t the easiest thing in the world to overcome, and there is every possibility that the Bruins stumble going forward. There are some defensive injuries as well, and Wisconsin isn’t a pushover (though I am of the opinion that they aren’t as good as their 4-1 record would have you believe).
So while I’m a firm believer that Bob Chesney and company are good enough to overcome the curse that hangs over UCLA football, I’m still willing to be a bit cautious.
Final Composite
Offense grade: C+ (2.3)
Defense grade: A- (3.7)
Special Teams grade: D (1.0)
Coaching grade: A (4.0)
Trending: Up
Final grade for Oregon Ducks: B (3.00)
For reference, here are the grades from past games this year:
UC Berkeley Golden Bears: B+ (3.42)
San Diego State Aztecs: A- (3.54)
Purdue Boilermakers: C (2.21)
Maryland Terrapins: A- (3.76)
You want a sign of the times? The UCLA Bruins went to Eugene, gave a B-level performance, and came away with a victory. If you had told me that before the season, I would have thought you were crazy, yet here we are.
That said, Oregon is the past now. Wisconsin is the future.
UCLA will need to regroup in a hurry. This has all the makings of a classic let down game, and is perhaps the biggest test of Bob Chesney’s first year.
Will this team wilt, or will they burn the f***ing boats again?
I know which one I have my money on.
Go Bruins!
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As opposed to nobody paying attention and no pressure, we now have a target on our backs. Things are different. We'll need to adjust accordingly. I'm hoping we can get back to scoring 50 points. Our defense is legit, our offense has to play better. For now, I'll just take wins one at a time.