UCLA went from laughingstock to college football darling. How did it happen?

Luka logs his second 50-point game this season

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UCLA went from laughingstock to college football darling. How did it happen?

UCLA went from laughingstock to college football darling. How did it happen?

Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Wed, Oct 15, 2025 ·

6 min read

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It was less than two weeks ago that it appeared a wake was taking place at the Rose Bowl.

UCLA was 0-4 with an interim coach, and its loyal fans were up early on Oct. 4, reminiscing about the good ol' times of Bruins football. They accepted the fact this was rock bottom, with No. 2 Penn State in town for what expected to be a blowout Nittany Lions win.

"This is, by far, probably the worst I've ever seen it," UCLA alumnus and season ticket holder André Hannie told USA TODAY Sports before the game. "I was telling my wife this morning, we were talking about like, 'what motivates me to still come?'"

UCLA has provided that motivation since with its season taking a 180-degree turn from one of the laughingstocks of college football to unlikly darlings of the sport. One moment, people are teasing Nico Iamaleava and the likelihood the Bruins have their first winless season in 1924 . Next, they're pondering an unlikely College Football Playoff path.

What the heck happened?

Cal fired Justin Wilcox on Nov. 23 with one game left in the regular season. The Golden Bears are 6-5 this season but 48-55 in Wilcox's seven seasons in charge.
(Brian Bishop-Imagn Images)

Auburn fired coach Hugh Freeze on Nov. 2 following a home loss to Kentucky. Freeze was 15-19 in two-plus seasons on the Plains.
(John Reed, John Reed-Imagn Images)

LSU fired Brian Kelly on Oct. 26 after an embarrassing home loss to Texas A&M the night before.
(Tyler Kaufman, Getty Images)

Florida fired Billy Napier on Oct. 19 during his fourth season as Gators coach. UF was 22-23 during Napier's tenure.
(Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images)

Penn State fired James Franklin on Oct. 12 after a third straight loss. The Nittany Lions were 104-45 in 11-plus seasons under Franklin.
(Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)

UAB fired Trent Dilfer on Oct. 12 after a 2-4 start to the 2025 season. Dilfer was in his third season as head coach of the Blazers.
(Randy Sartin, Imagn Images)

Sam Pittman was fired by Arkansas on Sept. 25, a day after the Razorbacks were blown out by Notre Dame, 56-13. Pittman was 32-34 in his five-plus seasons as Hogs coach.
(Nelson Chenault, Imagn Images)

Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry on Sept. 14 after the Hokies started the season 0-3. Virginia Tech was 16-24 overall in Pry's three-plus seasons.
(Brian Bishop-Imagn Images)

UCLA fired DeShaun Foster on Sept. 14 after the Bruins fell to 0-3 following a home loss to New Mexico. The Bruins were 5-10 in Foster's one-plus season in charge.
(Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)

Mike Gundy was in his 21st season as Oklahoma State coach when he was fired on Sept. 23. Gundy was 170-90 as Cowboys coach, but started 1-2 this season after going 3-9 in 2024.
(William Purnell, Imagn Images)

Oregon State fired Trent Bray on Oct. 12 after the Beavers started the season 0-7. The Beavers were 5-14 in Bray's season-plus in Corvallis.
(Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images)

Colorado State fired football coach Jay Norvell on Oct. 19. Norvell was 18-26 in his four seasons in Fort Collins.
(Logan Newell/The Coloradoan)

Stanford coach Troy Taylor was fired prior to the 2025 season following allegations of mistreating staff. He was 6-18 in two seasons with the Cardinal and was replaced by interim coach Frank Reich.

(Eakin Howard-Imagn Images)

Kent State coach fired coach Kenni Burns on April 15 after he posted a 1-23 record of and was placed on administrative leave by the school in March. Mark Carney is serving as interim coach.
(Matthew O'Haren, Imagn Images)

UCLA's locker room is the beginning of the story

According to interim coach Tim Skipper, it started with a clean locker room.

"A clean locker room makes you a lot happier," he said. "It shows team discipline and it shows you can win off the field, so now you can go ahead and get on the field."

Locker rooms haven't been the only thing cleaned up by Skipper, who took over after and a rebuilt staff that includes play-calling sensation Jerry Neuheisel .

It's hard to emphasize how disastrous the 0-4 start was. It was averaging just 14.3 points per game – fourth-worst in FBS. If you looked at just about any statistic, good chance you'd find UCLA near the bottom. Skipper was only in charge for one of those games - a loss to Northwestern. He took over after Deshaun Foster was fired after defeats against Utah, UNLV and New Mexico .

The narrative changed in the past two games. A team that scored 57 points in the first four losses has scored 80 in its two victories. The offense is flowing and the defense has cleaned up mistakes, validated in the 38-13 win over Michigan State that came a week after that stirring defeat of Penn State.

Sep 24, 2022; Boulder, Colorado, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver coach Jerry Neuheisel and wide receiver Matt Sykes (12) celebrate a touchdown in the first quarter at Folsom Field.
(Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 04: Offensive playcaller Jerry Neuheisel of the UCLA Bruins instructs players against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the third quarter at Rose Bowl Stadium on October 04, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
(Luke Hales, Getty Images)

Oct 4, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9,right) hugs new offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 42-37 at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
(Kiyoshi Mio, Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)

Sep 12, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins assistant head coach Jerry Neuheisel looks on during the second half against the New Mexico Lobos at Rose Bowl.
(Kiyoshi Mio, Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)

Oct 4, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins interim head coach Tim Skipper (left) and new offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel (right) on the sideline during second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
(Kiyoshi Mio, Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 16: Coach Jerry Neuheisel speaks to Braden Pegan #15 during a 59-7 win over the North Carolina Central Eagles at Rose Bowl Stadium on September 16, 2023 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Harry How, Getty Images)

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 04: Offensive playcaller Jerry Neuheisel of the UCLA Bruins looks on against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the third quarter at Rose Bowl Stadium on October 04, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
(Luke Hales, Getty Images)

What changed for UCLA?

Skipper recalled when he first stepped into the interim role, he was constantly asked about who was going to leave. Given how horrid the start was, no one would have blamed a player for entering the transfer portal, looking for greener pastures.

It wasn't an easy task. Skipper knew how critical his first few days in charge were.

Create a vision and players could be intrigued enough to stay. Don't show promise and you'll have people jumping off like the program is the Titanic.

"When you're taking over something, you're new, everything you say is important, and you have to get everybody to go in the same direction altogether," Skipper said.

Turns out, what Skipper said worked. Everyone has stayed, something he said was a major step in finding the right direction. The 30-day window for players to leave ended this week.

"We've shown them that, 'Hey, 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 said.

Players have echoed Skipper's approach into paving a way for success. Iamaleava said Skipper is someone you want to play for. Defensive lineman Keanu Williams remembered the team's vibe was uplifting when it was at its lowest moment when Foster was let go.

"We just looked at each other and said, 'Hey, we can either cry about this and just throw the season away, or you know what? Let's have fun with it. We have nothing to lose. Let's go play and do what we got to do,'" Williams said.

So how has it translated into wins?

According to players, it's just been about paying attention to those small details. As new coordinators came in to replace old ones, the team assessed what things weren't working and how to correct them.

The changes were instantaneous. Kevin Coyle took over the defense before the Northwestern game, and even though it was a loss, UCLA gave up just 17 points, including a second half shutout. When Neuheisel took over play-calling duties, the offense took its first lead of the season and put up a season-high 42 points against Penn State.

Now that both sides of the ball have a better understanding of the playbook, UCLA feels like it has set the stage for a strong second half of the season.

UCLA ... Big Ten contender?

As the Bruins were in the midst of scoring 38 consecutive points against the Spartans in Week 7, college football pundits and fans came to a startling revelation: With a 2-1 conference record, UCLA controls its destiny to a Big Ten title game appearance and is still alive in the playoff race.

No team that starts 0-4 should ever have a shot at a national championship run, but the reality of a 12-team playoff gives the Bruins a window. Albeit that opening is extremely small, as two of the next five games include road trips to No. 3 Indiana and No. 1 Ohio State .

But those games sure sound more compelling than the blowout that might have been expected two weeks ago. Can UCLA keep it rolling against two of the best teams in the nation?

Even if UCLA finishes 6-6, heck even 5-7, it will constitute a successful season. A bowl game, which should at least be the standard, would be a remarkable achievement.

Before the team headed to Michigan State , Skipper's message was "are you a one-hit wonder?" He challenged his team to prove beating the Nittany Lions wasn't a fluke and the season still means something.

After a dominant road victory, UCLA doesn't look like Vanilla Ice, the Baha Men or Lou Bega. Maybe, a couple of hits are left for the fun team to watch in the Big Ten race.

"We have to keep doing what we're doing and always be on the rise," Skipper said. "It's not time to get off the gas pedal right now."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UCLA became college football story after starting as joke

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Luka logs his second 50-point game this season

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