WEBVTT - Before The Whistle: Cal 0:00:08.780 --> 0:00:11.260 The 2026 football season has arrived. 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:14.520 David Bowie's estate approving the theme song for us to 0:00:14.620 --> 0:00:15.440 use as a backdrop. 0:00:15.900 --> 0:00:19.180 Chucha changes. They are everywhere and we are here for it. 0:00:19.530 --> 0:00:22.489 We'll unpack what has already happened and what may happen 0:00:22.989 --> 0:00:24.610 once the ball is in the air Saturday night. 0:00:25.110 --> 0:00:27.920 In Berkeley. Josh Lewin, Matt Stevens with you. 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:32.080 This is the first installment of the UCLA Football Preview Podcast. 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:34.199 Every week we're going to chop it up, as the 0:00:34.220 --> 0:00:37.000 kids now say, break down what to watch for, what 0:00:37.020 --> 0:00:38.620 to expect when Saturday is upon us. 0:00:39.100 --> 0:00:39.440 Mr. 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:42.559 Stevens, I'm glad you've stayed the same because everything else 0:00:42.620 --> 0:00:45.620 around us has changed since the end of last season 0:00:45.659 --> 0:00:46.540 and hopefully for the better. 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:50.200 Yeah, and now it's a Pac-12 revival game between two 0:00:50.340 --> 0:00:54.820 former Pac-12 schools. And Cal, I mean, there's an emergence 0:00:54.900 --> 0:00:57.490 up there with their new coach. I mean, things are 0:00:57.850 --> 0:01:01.790 really generating a lot of excitement. And for a season opener, 0:01:01.850 --> 0:01:02.630 you can't get any better. 0:01:02.750 --> 0:01:03.650 Cal, UCLA. 0:01:04.150 --> 0:01:07.429 Yeah, if UCLA wins Saturday night, it starts off the 0:01:07.450 --> 0:01:10.940 Bob Chesney era on a really positive note. You would 0:01:11.020 --> 0:01:14.420 absolutely see excitement and momentum building with a win in 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:15.399 a rivalry. 0:01:14.980 --> 0:01:17.280 Game, like you say, to start the season. That's the dream. 0:01:17.790 --> 0:01:20.330 And the Bruins are a two-point road favorite to pull 0:01:20.370 --> 0:01:24.450 this off with no fewer than 45 transfers, 63 new 0:01:24.510 --> 0:01:28.740 players overall, a whole new coaching staff, and, oh, yeah, 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:32.100 a whole new athletic department being sculpted now, too. Cal 0:01:32.140 --> 0:01:35.700 presents a real challenge, though. Big crowd expected for, I guess, 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:38.200 for a change up there. The real challenge, I guess, though, 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:41.209 is you and I pronouncing the names of the quarterbacks correctly. 0:01:41.650 --> 0:01:47.120 It is Nico Iamaliaba against Jaron Kiawe Sagapolitelli. who is 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:49.250 one of the most talented QBs UCLA is going to 0:01:49.270 --> 0:01:51.590 face this year. And Matt, I don't know how you feel, 0:01:51.630 --> 0:01:55.030 but last year with a mediocre Cal team around this guy, 0:01:55.450 --> 0:01:59.070 he threw for about 3,500 yards, 18 touchdowns as a freshman. 0:01:59.390 --> 0:02:01.630 They hit the transfer portal hard to beef up his 0:02:01.670 --> 0:02:06.020 supporting cast. They've got, obviously, a new coach who's got 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:09.000 the former Washington State head coach as a quarterback's coach. 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:13.040 He's good at designing high-flying run-and-shoot offenses here. So this 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:15.460 is not a swim in the shallow end to begin 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:16.100 things for Mr. 0:02:16.150 --> 0:02:16.440 Chesney. 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:20.260 Yeah, I mean, Cal invested in an offensive coordinator, Jordan Somerville, 0:02:20.700 --> 0:02:23.090 who spent a lot of time with Baker Mayfield and 0:02:23.100 --> 0:02:26.549 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And all the Cal people who 0:02:26.590 --> 0:02:29.890 have watched practice said the offense for the Bears is 0:02:29.910 --> 0:02:32.010 going to be just like the Buccaneers. I mean, they're 0:02:32.030 --> 0:02:35.410 going to run a lot of pro-style offense. They're going 0:02:35.430 --> 0:02:37.780 to wing the ball down the field. And you said 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:40.560 a talented passer, Sangapua Telly. 0:02:41.020 --> 0:02:41.900 He's as good as he gets. 0:02:41.940 --> 0:02:44.740 I mean, he threw for 3,400 yards last year. And 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:47.180 what I really liked about him, he only threw two 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:50.600 interceptions the last six games. You know, you think a 0:02:50.660 --> 0:02:53.340 young freshman starting, you know, right off the bat, you know, 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:55.919 he'd have some problems. He proved that he can get 0:02:56.180 --> 0:02:58.040 better as the season went along. 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:02.530 And it's only 13 Bruins remaining on the roster since... 0:03:02.730 --> 0:03:05.590 the last time these guys met up, and that was 0:03:05.610 --> 0:03:08.450 the 33-7 loss three years ago. A pair of former 0:03:08.470 --> 0:03:11.169 Golden Bears who were on the winning side, running back 0:03:11.210 --> 0:03:15.510 Javion Thomas, kicker Mateen Begani, now wear UCLA jerseys, and 0:03:15.530 --> 0:03:19.839 the Bruin roster also features some other Bears of recent vintage. 0:03:19.900 --> 0:03:24.020 The senior wide receiver Mikey Matthews, senior outside linebacker Ryan McCullough, 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:27.260 defensive lineman Tyson Ford, who hopefully is going to pop 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:30.580 for UCLA tomorrow, So there's a lot of crossover to 0:03:30.620 --> 0:03:34.030 monitor here once that $ 10 million Calamone check clears the 0:03:34.070 --> 0:03:34.890 banks in Berkeley. 0:03:35.550 --> 0:03:35.750 Yeah. 0:03:36.170 --> 0:03:38.050 I mean, there's a lot of players that have gone 0:03:38.090 --> 0:03:41.030 back and forth to the schools. And so it's going 0:03:41.050 --> 0:03:43.380 to be, you know, I think, Like you said, a 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:46.970 Pac-12 revival game. Everybody wants to play in this. I'm 0:03:47.050 --> 0:03:50.870 excited for the large crowd. I think this Cal football team, though, 0:03:50.890 --> 0:03:54.270 is really good. Not only their quarterback, they have big, 0:03:54.350 --> 0:03:57.910 tall receivers. They got a revamped offensive line. And then, 0:03:57.990 --> 0:04:00.330 you know, Tosh DuPoy, he knows how to coach defense. 0:04:00.370 --> 0:04:03.090 That's his former school where he went. He was a 0:04:03.110 --> 0:04:06.420 defensive lineman. Defense is his specialty. So I expect the 0:04:06.460 --> 0:04:08.300 Bears to be really good on that side of the ball. 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:11.100 We'll get back to the opener itself in a moment, 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.020 but it's important to note that, yes, the Rose Bowl 0:04:14.540 --> 0:04:16.219 is still the home of Bruins football. 0:04:16.260 --> 0:04:19.560 The stadium has received a facelift, and we note there 0:04:19.580 --> 0:04:19.940 will be. 0:04:19.860 --> 0:04:23.560 A quarterfinal round of the college football playoffs with the 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:26.780 New Year's Day Rose Bowl game. But first up, Matt, 0:04:26.820 --> 0:04:28.580 it's going to be the first Bruins home game of 0:04:28.620 --> 0:04:32.400 the year next Saturday, September 12th. San Diego State coming 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:35.170 in a 4 p.m. kick, which might be my favorite 0:04:35.190 --> 0:04:37.070 kickoff time, by the way. I think that leaves enough 0:04:37.089 --> 0:04:40.050 of the day both before and after. Can I get 0:04:40.089 --> 0:04:41.370 a hallelujah for a 4 o'clock? 0:04:42.029 --> 0:04:42.450 Oh, yeah. 0:04:42.510 --> 0:04:44.330 I mean, you can get there on time, and you 0:04:44.350 --> 0:04:46.470 don't have to drive at midnight going back home. 0:04:47.290 --> 0:04:50.030 So here's one for you, because everyone's wondering who's the 0:04:50.089 --> 0:04:51.110 next Indiana. 0:04:52.230 --> 0:04:54.670 Could it be UCLA? I mean, especially since. 0:04:54.570 --> 0:04:57.770 It's another former James Madison coach doing the hopping into 0:04:57.790 --> 0:05:00.869 the Big Ten. The smart money might be on Oregon 0:05:00.890 --> 0:05:02.530 maybe to step out of the Big Ten this year 0:05:02.550 --> 0:05:04.350 because they finished in the top ten three years in 0:05:04.390 --> 0:05:07.590 a row and remarkably ten times under all five of 0:05:07.610 --> 0:05:10.570 their head coaches in this century. It feels like only 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:12.680 a matter of time before Oregon makes it all the 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:15.000 way under Dan Lanning. Bruins will have to go up 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:17.599 and play them in October up there. But maybe the 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:19.979 Bruins have something to say about all this. What are 0:05:20.020 --> 0:05:22.659 we really looking at? What's the ceiling here for UCLA? 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:25.800 Well, the one thing I like about UCLA is Bob 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:29.890 Chesney brought seven assistants. So there's familiarity with the coaching staff. 0:05:29.950 --> 0:05:32.469 It's not going to be a bunch of guys that 0:05:32.570 --> 0:05:36.010 haven't coached together. So I think that's a plus. UCLA, 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:38.760 they can win this opener. I mean, I think that's 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:41.600 big because they could roll off four straight wins before they... 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:44.560 have to go to Eugene and play Oregon. So you're 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:47.589 really building confidence if you get this win. And I 0:05:47.650 --> 0:05:49.969 think Cal's going to do really well. I mean, this 0:05:50.029 --> 0:05:52.510 is a football team. They brought in a lot of transfers. 0:05:52.810 --> 0:05:56.170 Tosh Lapoi, he knows how to recruit. He knows how 0:05:56.210 --> 0:05:58.470 to bring people in. And just keeping their quarterback was 0:05:58.510 --> 0:05:59.570 probably the key for him. 0:06:00.660 --> 0:06:02.500 You know, I'm just thinking it's nice to begin a 0:06:02.540 --> 0:06:05.720 season without a UCLA coach on the hot seat. I'm 0:06:05.740 --> 0:06:08.719 looking at Luke Fickle in Wisconsin, whose stock is torpedoed 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:09.380 in Madison. 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:11.890 We'll see Mike Loxley in Maryland. 0:06:12.350 --> 0:06:15.050 They're 2-16 in conference the last two years, to say 0:06:15.110 --> 0:06:18.130 nothing of Lincoln Riley, right, whose buyout remains high, but 0:06:18.170 --> 0:06:22.029 the pressure across town is always intense. So, yeah, with Chesney, 0:06:22.089 --> 0:06:27.540 maybe the only more high-profile hires this year were down 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:31.180 in the SEC, where Lane Kiffin replaced Brian Kelly to LSU, 0:06:31.220 --> 0:06:34.440 then Ole Miss replaced Kiffin with Pete Golding. It was 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:37.960 just another... off the branch of the Nick Saban tree. 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:40.839 If you look at the Big Ten and with Chesney 0:06:40.860 --> 0:06:43.900 in two years since he replaced Kurt Cignetti at James Madison, 0:06:44.260 --> 0:06:46.039 look what he did there at JMU. 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:47.980 The Dukes earned their first ever bowl berth. 0:06:48.339 --> 0:06:50.920 They got a trip to the college football playoffs at Oregon, 0:06:50.940 --> 0:06:53.460 of all places. I think this guy is well aware 0:06:53.940 --> 0:06:56.900 that seven losing seasons the last ten here in Westwood 0:06:56.960 --> 0:06:59.900 is not going to cut it with the fans or alumni. 0:06:59.940 --> 0:07:03.220 And Chesney's had, what, 15 winning seasons in his 16 0:07:03.220 --> 0:07:03.740 as head coach. 0:07:04.589 --> 0:07:06.670 Well, Bob Chesney, he came to Westwood and he said, 0:07:06.910 --> 0:07:07.849 we're going to win right away. 0:07:07.910 --> 0:07:10.030 That's the goal. We're not going to build. We're not 0:07:10.050 --> 0:07:10.730 going to wait. 0:07:11.170 --> 0:07:14.830 The time is now for UCLA to turn it around. And, 0:07:14.940 --> 0:07:17.270 you know, Bob Chesney, when you think about it at JMU, 0:07:17.510 --> 0:07:21.120 Kurt Cignetti took a lot of those JMU players to Indiana. 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:22.860 So the coverage were bare. 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:25.660 And so for Bob Chesney to turn that team around 0:07:25.740 --> 0:07:28.000 in just two years and get to the first ever 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:30.560 college football playoff, Just shows you what kind of coach 0:07:30.580 --> 0:07:33.680 he is. He's really positive. He's a football guy and 0:07:33.700 --> 0:07:36.290 a football coach. That's all he does is breathe football. 0:07:36.930 --> 0:07:38.830 But he has a game plan. I like the way 0:07:38.870 --> 0:07:42.770 the team practiced, too. It's always a game-like situation. You 0:07:42.790 --> 0:07:45.830 see Coach Chesney wearing a headset, talking to his coordinators 0:07:45.850 --> 0:07:48.920 wearing a headset. If they call a timeout, it's like 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:53.440 a TV timeout. Everything is game situation. And I think 0:07:53.500 --> 0:07:55.940 Bob Chesney is really on to something. And this Bruin 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:58.600 football team, there's a lot of buy-in with him. 0:07:59.290 --> 0:08:01.270 We're going to hear more from Coach Chesney a little 0:08:01.290 --> 0:08:03.490 bit later in this podcast. We're going to do a 0:08:03.490 --> 0:08:06.090 thing this year called the Fast Five, Matt, where I 0:08:06.130 --> 0:08:10.070 just roll through five kind of off-the-field questions just to 0:08:10.270 --> 0:08:12.650 get to better know everybody and who else should we 0:08:12.690 --> 0:08:16.690 start with, obviously, than Bob Chesney. The schedule for UCLA 0:08:17.310 --> 0:08:19.980 isn't nearly as daunting as last year when they had 0:08:20.010 --> 0:08:22.960 to go to both Indiana and Ohio State on the road. 0:08:23.300 --> 0:08:24.840 That was a quick way to drain the air from 0:08:24.860 --> 0:08:27.510 the Bruins' balloon last season. Just as we were all 0:08:27.530 --> 0:08:29.790 feeling so great about that three-game win streak, the trips 0:08:29.810 --> 0:08:32.890 to Bloomington and Columbus were a bummer of the highest order. 0:08:32.929 --> 0:08:35.510 But this year, though there is that trip to Eugene, 0:08:35.750 --> 0:08:39.480 there's no Ohio State on the schedule, no Indiana. 0:08:39.170 --> 0:08:42.060 Or Washington or Iowa or Penn State. 0:08:42.420 --> 0:08:47.500 The Bruins missed the teams predicted to finish second, third, sixth, seventh, 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:49.780 and eighth in conference play. 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:50.460 That's not bad. 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:52.160 Yeah, it's not bad. 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:54.050 But still, you're going to end up going to Eugene, 0:08:54.090 --> 0:08:56.209 and they're probably– you know, the best team out there 0:08:56.230 --> 0:08:59.620 besides Ohio State and Indiana. So that's going to be 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:01.820 a really tough game. And then the Bruins are going 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:03.040 to have to get on a plane. I mean, they're 0:09:03.059 --> 0:09:04.239 going to have to go all the way across the 0:09:04.300 --> 0:09:08.040 country to play Maryland, Minnesota. I mean, and they're also 0:09:08.220 --> 0:09:11.230 going to play in a very tough stadium and environment 0:09:11.390 --> 0:09:13.870 in the middle of November, and that's Big Blue, the 0:09:13.929 --> 0:09:16.050 Michigan Wolverines. That's going to be a real tough game 0:09:16.070 --> 0:09:16.270 for them. 0:09:16.550 --> 0:09:17.189 But you're right, though. 0:09:17.490 --> 0:09:19.809 It's not like it was in the years past where 0:09:19.830 --> 0:09:23.250 it seemed like, you know, UCLA was in the NFC West, right? 0:09:23.580 --> 0:09:25.300 They have a little bit of breathing room, and like 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:27.760 I said, if they get this win at Cal, I 0:09:27.780 --> 0:09:29.600 think they could start 3-4-0. 0:09:30.340 --> 0:09:33.200 And yeah, opening week against Cal, we're going to see, 0:09:33.300 --> 0:09:35.640 and you talked about it already, with Tosh Lupoi, who 0:09:35.700 --> 0:09:40.319 jumps from Oregon's defensive coordinator. He replaces Justin Wilcox, who 0:09:40.740 --> 0:09:43.360 four years ago was a candidate at Oregon to be 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.280 head coach. Ron Rivera is now in charge of the 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:49.000 Cal football program, and he pegged the former Golden Bear 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:51.480 defensive lineman that you've been talking about in Lupoi. 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:55.540 He was with Dan Lanning at Oregon, Nick Saban at Alabama. 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:59.949 And the week one quarterback matchup, other than the pronunciation, 0:10:01.300 --> 0:10:02.920 it's a really interesting matchup. 0:10:02.980 --> 0:10:05.710 I think two gunslinging kind of quarterbacks. I think this 0:10:05.730 --> 0:10:06.370 could be a lot of fun. 0:10:06.950 --> 0:10:09.990 Yeah, you know, you mentioned Nick Rolovich, the former Washington 0:10:10.010 --> 0:10:10.530 State coach. 0:10:10.570 --> 0:10:12.510 He's on the staff. And also Bob Gregory. 0:10:12.940 --> 0:10:15.860 He was a defensive coordinator at Cal for a lot 0:10:15.900 --> 0:10:20.040 of years. So Tosh Lapoi is not, you know, nervous 0:10:20.100 --> 0:10:23.480 about bringing in guys that have a huge resume. I mean, 0:10:23.540 --> 0:10:26.480 I like this staff and Rivera, of course, being the GM, 0:10:26.540 --> 0:10:29.319 he's really going to help out Tosh Lapoi. They say 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:32.660 he's real tough. He's hard on his players, but he's 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:36.610 got a great defensive mind. We've seen him at Oregon 0:10:36.690 --> 0:10:39.790 and other places, Alabama, where defense was number one all 0:10:39.830 --> 0:10:42.850 the time. And, He did take a lot of players 0:10:42.890 --> 0:10:45.189 from Oregon, so I don't know if him and Dan 0:10:45.210 --> 0:10:46.770 Lanning are still on speaking terms. 0:10:47.770 --> 0:10:50.929 Well, and it's really funny to me, Tosh LaPoi, I mean, 0:10:51.190 --> 0:10:53.189 last year, one of the things he had to do 0:10:53.210 --> 0:10:56.819 to move forward in the college playoffs was to worry 0:10:56.880 --> 0:11:00.339 about what is Bob Chesney up to and how is 0:11:00.380 --> 0:11:02.839 that great running back of his, Wayne Knight, going to 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:06.560 be defended. Now, Knight was a star running back for 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:11.380 JMU in a very historic season for that school. 12-win 0:11:11.390 --> 0:11:13.679 season last year, he rushed for the 7th most yards 0:11:13.700 --> 0:11:17.060 in the country, nearly 1,400 of them, set a school 0:11:17.100 --> 0:11:20.679 record with more than 2,000 all-purpose yards, 3rd nationally in 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:23.780 all-purpose yards. So here he is at UCLA now, and 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:28.199 you don't see a lot of 5'7, 190-pound workhorses, but 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:32.470 indeed this guy touched the ball 247 times from scrimmage 0:11:32.510 --> 0:11:35.510 last year, Matt. He was returning punts and kickoffs as well. 0:11:35.750 --> 0:11:38.440 He's got a stocky build. He's really hard to bring down. 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:40.920 What do you reckon we're in for with Wayne Knight? 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:42.900 Well, he also blocks well. 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:45.880 You know, you wouldn't think a guy that's 5'7, 193 pounds, 0:11:46.170 --> 0:11:46.829 he'd be a good. 0:11:46.710 --> 0:11:48.730 Blocker, but he's a great blocker. Hard worker. 0:11:48.970 --> 0:11:51.530 You said it, the huge thighs. He has excellent hands 0:11:51.590 --> 0:11:54.140 coming out of the backfield. He's like a wide receiver 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:57.540 running routes. And his good balance, he's able to put 0:11:57.580 --> 0:11:59.839 a hand down on the ground and, and not get 0:11:59.920 --> 0:12:02.730 tackled and keep his balance and extend runs. 0:12:03.070 --> 0:12:04.810 I really expect a lot of out of him. 0:12:04.870 --> 0:12:07.270 And you got Anthony woods and JV and Thomas coming back, 0:12:07.550 --> 0:12:08.930 but we're going to see a lot of way night. 0:12:09.390 --> 0:12:09.750 Yeah. 0:12:10.090 --> 0:12:12.500 And remember he had to beat out four other running 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:16.239 backs at James Madison, all of whom had previous starting experience. He, 0:12:16.650 --> 0:12:19.230 supplanted the starter from the year before, a guy named 0:12:19.250 --> 0:12:22.589 George Petaway, who had transferred in from North Carolina. So, yeah, 0:12:22.630 --> 0:12:25.740 now he's battling with returning backs for UCLA, who had 0:12:25.780 --> 0:12:28.660 transferred in as well before he did. I still like 0:12:28.700 --> 0:12:32.040 Jet Thomas and Anthony Woods a lot. Do you agree 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:34.280 it's going to be a lot more running the ball 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:38.340 this year, not asking Nico to do all that improv and. 0:12:38.660 --> 0:12:41.030 Putting himself in harm's way? Looks like they've got three 0:12:41.170 --> 0:12:42.390 really solid running backs. 0:12:42.950 --> 0:12:46.010 Well, Dean Kennedy, the offensive coordinator, He likes to run 0:12:46.030 --> 0:12:48.790 the ball. In fact, JMU, they had 10 games of 0:12:48.850 --> 0:12:51.890 over 200 yards rushing. You're going to see UCLA, they're 0:12:51.910 --> 0:12:53.530 going to be in a one-back set. They're going to 0:12:53.570 --> 0:12:56.650 run the zone read play, three wide receivers and a 0:12:56.690 --> 0:12:58.870 tight end that's going to go in motion, almost like 0:12:58.910 --> 0:13:02.360 a pulling guard. The tight ends for UCLA, they're like blockers. 0:13:02.380 --> 0:13:06.880 They don't really pass catchers. But Dean Kennedy, he wants 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:09.179 to see his quarterback run the ball as well, but 0:13:09.420 --> 0:13:11.220 he doesn't want to see his quarterback run the ball 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.630 when Pass protection is breaking down. There'll be design runs 0:13:14.910 --> 0:13:17.689 with a blocker in front of Nico Iamaliaba, and that's 0:13:17.710 --> 0:13:20.380 going to be the key. I think UCLA, they're going 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:23.459 to be a run-first team and then control the game 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:24.140 with their defense. 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:27.600 Speaking of defense, I do want to ask you about 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:30.780 that because pressuring opposing quarterbacks has got to be a 0:13:30.820 --> 0:13:34.540 priority this year. It was just not a thing in 2025. 0:13:34.540 --> 0:13:37.819 Only 10 sacks all year, 40 tackles for loss. 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:39.380 Those are the worst marks in the country. 0:13:39.820 --> 0:13:43.180 But there are now five defensive players in from James Madison, 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:47.830 which was fifth nationally last year. allowing 266 yards a game. 0:13:48.110 --> 0:13:50.770 Trent Hendrick at linebacker at the last minute is huge. 0:13:51.050 --> 0:13:53.630 Said no to Cal to say yes to UCLA. And 0:13:53.730 --> 0:13:57.190 right away, week one, if all the paperwork is done, 0:13:57.230 --> 0:13:59.130 he can show the Bears what they could have had. 0:13:59.850 --> 0:14:02.550 Well, Sire West, he's going to be the man. I mean, 0:14:02.590 --> 0:14:07.650 he's angry. He can squat 600 pounds. He's coming off 0:14:07.700 --> 0:14:09.880 the edge. He's going to get after the quarterback. He's 0:14:09.900 --> 0:14:13.439 going to talk trash. He weighs 280 pounds. I mean, 0:14:13.500 --> 0:14:16.650 the guy eats raw food. I've never seen such an 0:14:16.900 --> 0:14:18.970 angry edge rusher like Syer West. 0:14:18.990 --> 0:14:20.710 So I'm going to expect a lot out of him. 0:14:21.070 --> 0:14:21.710 And the defense of. 0:14:21.790 --> 0:14:27.140 UCLA, they have great linebackers and great secondary players. So 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:29.870 I think that's a strength UCLA has. has to get 0:14:29.910 --> 0:14:32.240 a push with their two nose tackles. That's going to 0:14:32.250 --> 0:14:34.300 be one of the key. But if they can just 0:14:34.380 --> 0:14:37.940 establish the middle and not get blown off the ball 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:39.600 or anything like that, I think UCLA is going to 0:14:39.620 --> 0:14:40.460 be solid on D. 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:44.260 And Bob Chesney's teams at JMU forced the action at 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:47.680 the line of scrimmage. They demanded takeaways defensively. That would 0:14:47.710 --> 0:14:50.070 be a welcome thing for the Bruins. This Hall of Transfers, 0:14:50.670 --> 0:14:53.630 blending contributors and impact starters from his old school. There's 0:14:53.650 --> 0:14:56.430 a lot of other Power 4 programs that have brought in, 0:14:56.450 --> 0:14:58.030 I think, really talented guys. 0:14:58.480 --> 0:15:01.340 And that transfer portal is a serious thing. 0:15:01.700 --> 0:15:04.740 Maybe the best sign of the times is that Michigan 0:15:04.820 --> 0:15:07.560 State this year is going to face three of their 0:15:07.700 --> 0:15:12.100 former starting quarterbacks this year. Noah Kim's at Eastern Michigan, 0:15:12.400 --> 0:15:15.650 Caden Houser's at Illinois, Aiden Childs is at Northwestern. 0:15:15.670 --> 0:15:16.350 That is nuts. 0:15:16.970 --> 0:15:17.850 Yeah, that is nuts. 0:15:17.930 --> 0:15:21.030 I mean, and that's really the climate right now in 0:15:21.490 --> 0:15:23.750 college football. I mean, there's a couple of players on 0:15:23.790 --> 0:15:25.890 Cal that have gone to four schools already, and this 0:15:25.970 --> 0:15:28.450 is their They're fifth. I mean, you really got to, 0:15:28.710 --> 0:15:31.210 you know, at the opening game, know. 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:32.400 Who these players are. 0:15:32.420 --> 0:15:35.440 I mean, there's a big, big biography of what they did, 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:37.940 where they've been at. And that's just, like I said, 0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:39.620 that's what college football is all about. 0:15:39.740 --> 0:15:41.020 Everybody just has to get used to it. 0:15:41.620 --> 0:15:43.310 I do want to throw you back before we get 0:15:43.370 --> 0:15:46.070 to our sit down with Coach Chesney. 0:15:46.170 --> 0:15:48.430 Talk about the quarterback a little bit. Nico is back. 0:15:48.980 --> 0:15:51.359 And despite all of the ups and downs, I think 0:15:51.420 --> 0:15:54.280 his enthusiasm remains his biggest plus. 0:15:54.300 --> 0:15:55.820 There were all these challenges last year. 0:15:55.860 --> 0:15:59.840 He still passed for close to 2,000 yards, rushed for 5.05. 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:03.160 He accounted for 17 total touchdowns. He took a beating 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:06.460 all year, never complained about it. There was a noticeable 0:16:06.500 --> 0:16:09.760 improvement in his overall game during the second half of 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.500 last year once Jerry Neuheisel took the reins. I thought 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:15.900 his decision-making was better. He even threw some decent deep balls. 0:16:16.180 --> 0:16:19.160 This guy's a five-star recruit. playing for his fourth head 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:22.060 coach in the past three seasons. So he's had to 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:24.830 adapt at every step of the way, Matt, and he 0:16:24.890 --> 0:16:26.150 keeps on acing the test. 0:16:26.830 --> 0:16:29.430 Yeah, Imali Aba is so competitive. That's what I like 0:16:29.490 --> 0:16:30.270 about him the most. 0:16:30.330 --> 0:16:32.570 If you have a competitive quarterback that wants to win, 0:16:33.110 --> 0:16:36.420 I mean, that's contagious for the whole entire offense. And 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:40.230 I don't think UCLA wants Nico to be the star 0:16:40.510 --> 0:16:42.570 every game. They don't want him to have to go 0:16:42.630 --> 0:16:44.110 out and win it. They want him to be the 0:16:44.270 --> 0:16:47.330 orchestra leader. They want to let him get the ball 0:16:47.370 --> 0:16:50.590 to different players and let the other players be the stars. 0:16:50.610 --> 0:16:52.380 That's going to be one of the keys for Nico. 0:16:52.820 --> 0:16:55.580 He needs to stay healthy. It's very important. He's a 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:59.460 very tough kid. We saw some of just, Terrible hits 0:16:59.540 --> 0:17:01.810 on him last year where he got right back up. 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:04.739 He's as tough as it gets. But I'd like to. 0:17:04.740 --> 0:17:09.530 See Nico Yamaliaba this year be really controlled. And the 0:17:09.570 --> 0:17:12.970 other thing about Dean Kennedy's offense, it has three wide 0:17:12.990 --> 0:17:16.149 receivers set and then one back. It's very easy to 0:17:16.210 --> 0:17:18.910 see space and read the defense. And I think that's 0:17:18.970 --> 0:17:19.649 key for Nico. 0:17:20.609 --> 0:17:23.359 Matt, it's time for your prediction. 0:17:23.980 --> 0:17:26.440 I'm going to abstain or at least go second. But 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.960 I'm fascinated now that you've done all this poring over 0:17:29.300 --> 0:17:32.090 both rosters. We've got a semblance of a two deep. 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:34.369 We kind of know who we're going to see. How 0:17:34.390 --> 0:17:36.050 about the what we're going to see? 0:17:36.109 --> 0:17:36.550 What do you think? 0:17:37.530 --> 0:17:39.210 Well, I think UCLA, they're going to run the ball. 0:17:39.510 --> 0:17:41.629 And they're going to try and control the clock with 0:17:41.670 --> 0:17:44.879 their defense. But they want to run the ball and 0:17:45.060 --> 0:17:48.100 keep the ball away from the talented freshman or sophomore 0:17:48.140 --> 0:17:50.980 quarterback at Cal. Cal, they're going to try and get 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:51.959 the ball downfield. 0:17:52.660 --> 0:17:55.020 And UCLA, they're secondary defensively. They're going to have to 0:17:55.060 --> 0:17:55.680 be on their game. 0:17:55.700 --> 0:17:58.980 There's some big, wide receivers and probably the best tight 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:02.719 end corp Cal's had in about a decade. You're going 0:18:02.740 --> 0:18:05.150 to see Cal put the ball up, so the secondary 0:18:05.210 --> 0:18:05.949 will be tested. 0:18:06.330 --> 0:18:08.350 But believe it or not, it's the first game of 0:18:08.390 --> 0:18:09.850 the year. There's going to be mistakes. 0:18:10.190 --> 0:18:12.230 I think it's going to be a low-scoring game with 0:18:12.330 --> 0:18:14.010 UCLA winning it in the fourth quarter. 0:18:14.530 --> 0:18:16.409 Yeah, and I kind of like that since this is 0:18:16.450 --> 0:18:20.030 a battle of first-year head coaches at these schools, one 0:18:20.050 --> 0:18:23.290 guy's already got– A lot of skin's on the wall 0:18:23.350 --> 0:18:25.840 as a head coach, and the other team doesn't. I mean, 0:18:25.859 --> 0:18:28.000 maybe Tosh Lupoi's going to end up being a great coach, 0:18:28.340 --> 0:18:30.949 but he hasn't done what Bob Chesney has yet. So 0:18:31.010 --> 0:18:32.909 I kind of like that as the X factor, and 0:18:33.190 --> 0:18:34.230 hopefully it's a 1-0 start. 0:18:35.130 --> 0:18:35.750