UCLA football has changed its outlook for the 2026 season by hiring Bob Chesney, a 49-year-old coach who arrived after a 3-9 finish that left the UCLA Bruins with more questions than answers. The shift matters now because UCLA is no longer trying to explain last season’s losses to UNLV and New Mexico as a one-off; it is betting that Chesney can turn the program in a new direction before he has coached a game there.
That is the reason readers are looking at UCLA and USC together again. The two programs share a city and a conference, but the comparison is not especially close as they enter 2026. USC figures to be one of the stronger teams in the Big Ten, with talented recruiting classes that have not yet translated into enough success under Lincoln Riley. UCLA, by contrast, is trying to climb out of a 3-9 season with a new coach whose reputation was built far from Westwood.
Chesney won at a bunch of small schools in the Northeast before taking James Madison to the College Football Playoff last season, and that run is the basis for the belief around UCLA. He has already convinced the school’s administration, boosters and players that he can do the same thing on the West Coast, which is a striking vote of confidence for a coach who has not yet taken a snap at UCLA. The pitch is simple: if he could build winners in smaller settings and reach the playoff at James Madison, he can do it again in a tougher spotlight.
But that promise is also the point of friction. UCLA remains unproven since joining the Big Ten in 2024, and the leap from a strong run elsewhere to immediate success in this league is not automatic. Chesney’s optimism is being treated as proof of concept before the proof exists, while USC’s problems are almost the reverse: a roster full of promise, a demanding Big Ten schedule, and no guarantee that Lincoln Riley’s next chance will look much different from the last few.
That leaves UCLA and USC moving in opposite directions as 2026 begins. The Bruins are asking whether one coach can rewrite the story fast enough to matter, and the answer will come on the field, not in the buildup. Chesney’s next test is not the hire itself. It is whether UCLA football can turn belief into wins before the season turns into another explanation.
