UCLA coach Bob Chesney dismisses the soap opera.
Forget about the weekly Associated Press top 25 poll. Forget about the College Football Playoff rankings. Forget about everything until the confetti is swept away after all the conference championship games are played. Forget about all of it until Selection Sunday when your ranking finally counts and determines your bowl fate.
“We don’t watch,” Chesney told reporters when asked about the College Football Playoff rankings after his team’s 34-20 statement win at Minnesota on Saturday.
“I told our guys, don’t worry about watching this four-week drama series. That’s gonna be this show that they’re gonna put out there. That’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to focus on getting the work and being the best that we possibly can be. No way slighted, no way honored. Just totally neutral on whatever they might say. We gotta win our football games.”
Sure, it’s essential that you all do that. Focusing on the process has worked for generations in Westwood.
But the rest of us can ask the obvious question: Why isn’t UCLA ranked higher?
Newsletter subscription change
Starting Sept. 21, this newsletter will be available to Los Angeles Times subscribers only. A free press isn’t free, and we depend on reader support to report on the stories that make a difference. If you’re already a subscriber, nothing will change. If you’re not, there’s never been a better time to sign up. Get started here.
The Bruins moved up from No. 5 to No. 4 in the latest Associated Press top 25 poll Sunday. They were No. 8 in the first College Football Playoff rankings revealed last week and are sure to move up at least a little bit when the next round is revealed Tuesday as others lost and the Bruins tacked on a quality Big Ten road win.
But it’s unlikely to be a leap up and it’s definitely not going to be No. 1, no matter how passionately Bill Plaschke argues that’s where the mighty Bruins belong.
A weak schedule generally has been the excuse for an undefeated Power Four team sitting on the middle to lower end of the top 10 of the polls this late in the season.
The Bruins improved to 9-0 with their win at Minnesota, but their strength of schedule ranks No. 67 nationally, according to ESPN analytics.
But then someone needs to explain Utah.
The Utes, who are led by a first-year coach just like the Bruins, are the only other undefeated team in the country and improved to 9-0 after a 28-20 win over No. 9 BYU on Saturday.
They were ranked No. 3 in the first College Football Playoff rankings without the benefit of that win over the Cougars and moved up to No. 2 in the AP poll with that rivalry victory in hand.
However, that BYU win is a bit of an outlier. The Utes’ strength of schedule ranks No. 81 nationally, according to ESPN analytics, 14 spots below UCLA.
UCLA linebacker Sammy Omosigho (10) celebrates earn a defensive against Minnesota Saturday in Minneapolis.
(Abbie Parr / Associated Press)
At this point, critics typically cite the eye test. UCLA lost its starting quarterback to a season-ending injury and its offense and defense haven’t performed well at the same time most of this season. The run game looked unbeatable against weaker non-conference opponents and then slowed down significantly against Big Ten defenses. The Bruins didn’t look or feel dominant.
Chesney has noted the coaches have had a lot of mistakes to address after every win this season. And the coaching staff has dialed back on the creativity during some games that seemed to be in hand, but that allowed the Bruins to stun Minnesota with back-to-back 75-yard touchdown passes they never previously saw on tape.
And whether observers choose to believe it, his team has consistently exceeded expectations all season.
UCLA improved to 9-0 against the spread after entering the Minnesota game as a 3.5-point road favorite, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Even the bettors in Las Vegas and around the country are sleeping on the Bruins, but they probably won’t for much longer.
The final reason that fans haven’t packed the Rose Bowl and poll voters have been more skeptical of UCLA’s success than they have of other teams is probably because it’s been a long time since anyone could believe the Bruins were this good.
UCLA football has, during the last 25 years, trained fans and national audiences to expect a bit of a letdown when the calendar turns to November.
The Bruins have never won more than 10 games in a season in school history. The last time UCLA was ranked No. 4 in the AP poll was the 2001 season. The team’s final record that year was 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the Pac-12.
But it is getting harder for cynics to deny this year’s UCLA team is, in fact, for real.
Minnesota was a team that is tough to beat at home, has a record of keeping pace with the top Big Ten teams and embraces an ethos very similar to Chesney’s Bruins. UCLA’s decisive win over the Golden Gophers helped, as did Oregon’s win over Ohio State.
UCLA will be favored to win at home against Illinois on Friday and at Michigan Nov. 21 before what could be a massively important Thanksgiving week rivalry game against No. 20 USC at the Rose Bowl.
Chesney has his team focused on the first task, completing a strong week of practice while preparing to play the Illini. The Bruins are sticking to the same daily routine he has been preaching since January.
And regardless of whether everyone has hopped on the UCLA bandwagon, the Bruins are confident they everyone will eventually catch up.
“I just feel like the whole team is just keeping the belief and the faith that we could beat anybody that we play against,” UCLA linebacker Jalen Woods said.
A secret passing attack
Chesney didn’t want to answer the question.
He was asked about Ty Dieffenbach’s back-to-back 75-yard touchdown passes to Aidan Mizell after a win over Minnesota and responded with a bit of verbal dancing.
“Yeah, just I don’t want to get into it too much, to be honest with you, but there were some things we were doing early that were setting up this next thing that we could do, and that’s ultimately what we felt like we saw, and we were able to attack it just a little bit,” Chesney said.
He added a bit more description, but the coach generally made it clear that his staff saw some things on tape, exploited them on game and absolutely did not want to give away any other hints to future opponents.
The Bruins unveiled a previously dormant passing attack that shredded the Golden Gophers’ secondary and Dieffenbach’s ability to pass the ball is impossible to hide at this point.
He said he connected on deep passes with Mizell during preseason camp and they’ve continued to work on their connection this season, making it pretty natural to pick apart gaps in the Minnesota defense on Saturday.
They both took great pride in delivering daggers that seemed to crush Minnesota’s spirit.
“We hit a lull for a little bit there late in the second quarter and in the start of the second half. So it felt really good to do that and just hit some explosive plays,” Dieffenbach said.
“It felt great. I was tweaking out,” Mizell said. “I don’t really remember the second one, but, yeah, it was an amazing feeling.”
Mizell said Dieffenbach has steadily improved since taking over the starting job and their connection was strong all week in practice.
“He’s more confident, he’s more consistent in practice,” Mizell said. “I feel like how we practice is how we play. And we knew the way we practiced this week it was over with.”
Dodd sets water polo record
UCLA junior Ryder Dodd scored 12 goals during the No. 3 Bruins’ 19-9 win over No. 7 UC San Diego on Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Center, shattering the school and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation single-game goals records.
Dodd previously held a share of the school record with eight goals. The previous conference record was 10.
“Obviously, it felt really good. I think coming off of last weekend where physically and mentally I don’t think I played my best at all,” Dodd said. “Coming off a good week of training, I think that led me to have a good game, but also the teammates doing a good job of pulling each other and pulling the other guys to them, making it really easy on me.”
Bruins on deck
Here is this week’s UCLA athletics schedule. All Times are PST.
Wednesday
Men’s basketball vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 6 p.m.
Thursday
Swimming and diving at Trojan Diving Invite, All Day
Women’s volleyball vs. Washington, 11 a.m.
Women’s basketball vs. Arizona, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Swimming and diving at Trojan Diving Invite, All Day
Cross country at NCAA regional, TBA
Football vs. Illinois, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Swimming and diving at Trojan Diving Invite, All Day
Men’s water polo vs. USC, 1 p.m.
Women’s volleyball vs. Oregon, 2 p.m.
Sunday
Women’s basketball vs. Princeton (National title banner to be raised), 3 p.m.
In case you missed it
UCLA moves up to No. 4 in latest AP top 25 poll; USC climbs to No. 15
Plaschke: Undefeated UCLA proves why it should be ranked No. 1
Bob Chesney’s Bruins keep rolling as No. 8 UCLA earns statement win at Minnesota
Nikola Kusturica shines in No. 22 UCLA’s blowout victory over North Florida
UCLA focuses on winning turnover battle, edge in trenches during key Minnesota matchup
Sienna Betts helps lead No. 11 UCLA women to victory over UC Irvine
UCLA is No. 8 in the first College Football Playoff rankings; USC is No. 20
No. 22 UCLA men open season with big upset of No. 5 Arizona
No. 11 UCLA women begin their NCAA title defense with win over Lehigh
Swanson: Championship blueprint: Why Cori Close’s people-first approach is what college sports needs
UCLA Unlocked: Mick Cronin rebuilt roster with an eye on defense
Have something Bruin?
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.