This post was updated Oct. 16 at 8:53 p.m.
The Bruins were one of the worst teams in college football two weeks ago.
They had not taken a lead throughout their first four games and faced the possibility of a winless season for the first time in program history.
But then, UCLA pulled off the largest upset of the 2025 college football season against then-No. 7 Penn State on Oct. 4 – a matchup where the Nittany Lions were projected to win by nearly 25 points – marking UCLA’s first top-10 victory since 2010.
Then the Bruins won again, beating Michigan State at Spartan Stadium in front of more than 70,000 attendees.
UCLA football (2-4, 2-1 Big Ten) could extend its winning streak to three games come Saturday when the squad returns to the Rose Bowl to take on Maryland (4-2, 1-2) for its annual homecoming game.
A win would put the Bruins one step closer toward reaching a bowl game berth despite their 0-4 start to the season.
“We have to keep doing what we’re doing and always be on the rise,” said interim head coach Tim Skipper. “It’s not the time to get off the gas pedal right now. We got to keep on pressing, keep on getting better and keep on working.”
The Bruins have achieved a 2-1 record and have undergone a complete turnaround on both sides of the ball with Skipper at the helm.
Assistant head coach and tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel received national attention for spearheading a UCLA attack that accumulated 80 points across his first two games as the team’s offensive play caller – a significant increase from the 14.3 points per game that UCLA averaged under former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri.
Although Neuheisel has earned a large bulk of the praise for UCLA’s recent success, Skipper – along with senior defensive analyst and acting defensive play caller Kevin Coyle – has orchestrated a defensive resurgence.
The Bruin defense has limited opposing offenses to 22 points per game under Coyle – despite facing three Big Ten teams – after allowing 108 combined points across its first three performances under former defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe.
Maryland has seen the opposite happen, suffering recent losses to Washington and Nebraska where its defense regressed against quality opposition, allowing 58 points across its last two contests despite allowing just 11 points per game through its first four games – where it went undefeated.
UCLA recorded its best defensive performance of the season against Michigan State last week, as the unit limited the Spartans’ offense to just 13 points and 253 total yards.
“It took time to adjust,” said redshirt senior defensive lineman Devin Aupiu. “They are two different systems. I feel like we did a great job just figuring out how to play with the defense. As you can see, we’re starting to get some success.”
Beyond success on the field, Skipper successfully retained all of his players even with the opening of the 30-day transfer portal window following Foster’s firing Sept. 14.
“Everybody was asking me about who’s redshirting, and who’s going to the portal,” Skipper said. “I think we’ve shown them that we can make it a good environment here, even though we have all this change and stuff. Just stick with us, and we’re going to be all right.”
Skipper is no stranger to coaching teams facing instability at the helm.
He led Fresno State as interim coach for 14 games after health issues sidelined then-head coach Jeff Tedford during the 2024 season. Tedford missed the team’s 2023 bowl game and chose to step down from his role seven months later, leaving Skipper to lead the 2024 squad, where he helped the Bulldogs reach another bowl game.
“Big ups to coach Skipper,” said redshirt senior defensive lineman Keanu Williams. “He comes in every day with some energy. We started to feed off that, and he’s saying, ‘Hey, the standard’s the standard. It doesn’t matter who we play. We just gotta go out there and have fun and play. It doesn’t matter who we play. It’s football.’”
While Skipper was at Fresno State, Coyle was his defensive coordinator and helped lead a unit that ranked third in the Mountain West in yards allowed.
The Bruin defense will face a difficult task this upcoming week in containing true freshman quarterback Malik Washington. Washington boasts more than 1,500 yards – notching at least 200 in all six contests – and 13 total touchdowns this season. He leads all true freshman quarterbacks in both categories.
After just 39,256 fans filled the 89,702-seat Rose Bowl two weeks ago, Skipper – who sent an email to all UCLA students about packing the Rose Bowl – said he is hoping for a loud crowd at Saturday’s homecoming game.
“Winning is going to create excitement, and we need everybody in the Rose Bowl,” Skipper said. “Let’s keep the excitement going. The more people that are there and the louder the Rose Bowl is, the better our chances of winning. So let’s bring it.”
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