While Purdue is not projected to be a Big Ten juggernaut this season, UCLA coach Bob Chesney and his team expect to be challenged during their first game against Big Ten competition on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
The Boilermakers’ defensive line features five high-impact players that are at least 6-foot-3, and a nose tackle who weighs in at 301 pounds and anchors a defensive front that ranks second in the Big Ten with 17 tackles for loss.
“They’re talented in who they’re as individual players, there are some game-wreckers in there,” Chesney said. “They are as vertical as can be, they jump out of their stances, they’re jumping snap counts and they’re violent. They pose a giant problem, and we are not going to be able to push them around, and we are not going to be able to find ourselves in a spot where they tire. This is going to be a battle on the inside throughout the entire course of that game.”
While UCLA’s ground attack has dominated through the first two games of the season — rushing for 277 yards and six touchdowns against California and 214 yards and four scores against San Diego State — it might be harder for the Bruins’ running backs to have their way against the Purdue defense.
Purdue held both Indiana State‘s and Wake Forest’s starting running backs to less than four yards per carry, and has conceded just two rushing touchdowns to those starters this season.
“There’s some things that I think Purdue does a really good job defensively, in terms of getting off the ball,” said UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy. “They have got a lot of length. They’re a very, very big team, it will probably be one of the biggest teams we will face, so we have to be prepared for that.”
However, the Boilermakers have struggled to stop quarterbacks on the run — allowing Indiana State’s Elijah Owens and Wake Forest‘s Gio Lopez to combine for 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns — giving Bruins senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava the opportunity to rely on his legs.
While Iamaleava should have wide receivers Landon Ellis and Brian Rowe Jr. back to full strength, fortifying the aerial attack, the signal-caller will be without Mikey Matthews, after the slot receiver went down with a lower-body injury against San Diego State.
“There’s a fine line. Understanding what the coverage is doing, when is it time to take off and go,” Kennedy said. “If you are going through your read, from a clock standpoint, and it’s not there, it’s a great time to take off and go. It’s our job as an offense to create explosives, whether it’s him taking off or it’s him creating a scramble drill. We look at scramble drills, that we have to create explosives, and that’s something we have to do a better job of.”
Defensively, the “Bruin Bullies” will be tasked with stopping running back Fame Ijeboi, who has run for 201 yards and four touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry this season. Chesney said that Ijeboi has a “Wayne Knight” feeling to him, where he plays low to the ground, displays proficient body balance and leg drive, allowing him to be influential in the passing game and break tackles.
While UCLA has already faced formidable rushers in Cal’s Adam Mohammed and San Diego State’s Lucky Sutton, Ijeboi could be the most impactful yet. And no one knows that more than Bruin defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler, who went to the same high school as the Boilermaker running back.
“It’s been fun to watch his growth, following him through high school, and watching him earn those scholarships and opportunities,” Hitschler said. “Those first two games, he jumped off the tape. He’s got great potential and he’s going to go a long way. We have to do a good job putting a physical shoulder on him and knocking him down because he’ll run through contact and does a great job of finding the edges.”
If Ijeboi is unable to get it going, it will have to be up to Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne to generate offense.
While the signal-caller struggled last season — throwing nine touchdowns with 10 interceptions — Browne has looked like a new player in 2026, passing for 646 yards and four touchdowns.
Browne has benefited from the addition of two premier slot receivers in Florida Atlantic transfer Asaad Waseem and Iowa State transfer Xavier Townsend. They have combined for 25 receptions, 277 yards and one score.
“What makes them unique is there are a lot of them,” Hitschler said. “When you have 10 personnel and that many receivers that can catch the ball, it can create mismatches, and we play a lot of man, so who’s going to fold first?” Hitschler said. “Are we going to be able to man them up or are we having to play more zone? Those are questions that will play out as the game dictates by who’s winning the one-on-one matchups. It’s the chess match that always happens in any game.”
The Bruins’ defense will look to force turnovers, but that is no easy feat as the Boilermakers have yet to turn the ball over this season.
Kids’ favourite TV character Bob the Builder – complete with a voice over by actor Neil Morrissey – has been hired to encourage more people to learn green energy skills
Bob the Builder has returned for a one-off advert in his original stock motion form (Image: E.on)
Much-loved cartoon character Bob the Builder is making a return in his original form after 15 years – to plug green energy.
The kids TV favourite, voiced by Men Behaving Badly actor Neil Morrissey, appears in a new advert from energy giant E.on.
And he also reveals what he has been doing since the original stop motion version of the show ended in 2011, including taking up yoga, bird watching and travelling to Australia.
It is Down Under, so the new story goes, that Britain’s best known tradesman twigs the importance of green energy, such as solar panels and home batteries. On returning home, he decides to learn the skills needed to fit the new kit, with the advert ending with his famous catchphrase: “Can we fix it? Yes we can.”
The 90 second piece, which will run across E.ON UK’s social media channels, is designed to encourage many more people to learn the same type of skills.
It comes as new research commissioned by the company found that around one third of professionals in the UK energy sector believe the workforce is not yet fully equipped to install the technologies needed for the transition to green energy.
At the same time, 89% agree that greater investment and closer collaboration between government and industry are needed. And the vast majority say that upskilling the existing workforce will be just as important as attracting new talent to meet future demand.
Helen Bradbury, chief people officer at E.ON UK, said: “Bob the Builder has always inspired people to solve problems and build things that matter. Today, those same qualities are needed to help deliver the UK’s transition to clean power.
“By embracing green skills and fronting this campaign, he’s a shining example of how we can make new energy work for everyone.
“If we invest in people’s homes, we can build a new energy system from the ground up. One that uses low-carbon, connected technologies like solar panels and batteries to put customers back in control of their energy use and lower their bills.”
Precision and execution on punts and kickoffs can pin teams in their own end zones, stopping drives before they even get started.
Electric returners can flip the field and change the trajectory of a game in one play.
And a big foot can mitigate the pressure of a two-minute drill and create scoring opportunities as far as midfield.
No one may understand that more than UCLA coach Bob Chesney, who served as the special teams coordinator at King’s College from 2003-04 and at Johns Hopkins from 2005-08.
Chesney’s emphasis on the third phase of the game followed him from his time in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to Westwood, where he incorporates special team periods throughout every practice.
Sign up for UCLA Unlocked
A weekly newsletter offering big game takeaways, recruiting buzz and everything you need to know about UCLA sports.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
While some coaches have specialists practice by themselves or use special teams periods sporadically through practice, Chesney ensures that everyone is involved, using players to distract kickers during field-goal attempts and returns, with the Bruins shouting, spraying water and running at specialists to simulate game-like scenarios.
In a game often decided by thin margins, special teams could be what pushes a team over the edge or what holds it back.
Let’s take a closer look at the changes Chesney and his staff have made to UCLA’s special teams personnel and how the group could fare in 2026.
Before analyzing the personnel, one of the biggest additions to the unit came in special teams coordinator Drew Canan, who followed Chesney from James Madison to UCLA and has led Chesney’s special teams units during the last 13 seasons.
UCLA’s Mateen Bhaghani hits a game-winning field goal with four seconds left against Maryland at Rose Bowl on Oct. 18.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
Kicker Mateen Bhaghani is arguably one of the highest impact Bruins returnees.
He has played 34 games across two years at UCLA and one season at California in 2023. During his three-year career, Bhaghani has hit 44 of 53 of his field-goal attempts and 71 of 71 extra points.
Despite his consistency, Bhaghani was not on the 2026 Lou Groza Award preseason watch list, an honor presented annually to the best college kicker in the country.
“That motivates me, but I don’t focus on it too hard,” Bhaghani said. “Seeing those types of things, I definitely feel like I could be one of those dudes, but I kind of ignore it. And I feel like this season I’ll show why I should be on that list, if not win it.”
The San Diego native has started all 24 of UCLA’s games during his two seasons in Westwood, nailing 36 of his 44 field-goal attempts, including five out his nine attempts from at least 50 yards.
Punter Chase Barry, who spent three seasons at UCLA and one at Oklahoma State, is back in Westwood. He was Bhaghani’s holder in 2024, helping the kicker hit 20 field goals, which led the Big Ten and ranked No. 11 among all kickers nationally.
As the season opener looms, Bhaghani is less focused on the technical side of his game and is placing more emphasis on sharpening the psychological side so that he can thrive under pressure.
“It’s all mental. The tougher I can sharpen my mental game to where it doesn’t matter what’s going on around me, I can go in there and make that kick. That’s what I feel is most important,” Bhaghani said. “Just being in pressure situations, it’s not as much technique and tweaking stuff like that right now. I feel like that’s more for the offseason. Whereas as we get closer to the season, I just focus on hitting a pure ball and working with the operation.”
Bhaghani proved his aptitude in high-pressure situations when he hit a 23-yard game-winning field goal against Maryland on Oct. 18 with two seconds remaining.
In addition to training mental toughness and familiarity with personnel, Chesney’s emphasis on special teams in practice has prepared Bhaghani for a high-impact year heading into his senior season.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney directs players during a preseason workout on Aug. 6.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“Coach Chesney has been a blessing, special teams-wise. He’s always there for me, and he has a clear line of communication in terms of where we should kick, when we should kick,” Bhaghani said. “The culture that he’s brought to special teams as the heartbeat of the team, it’s important, and every team needs to implement that.”
Bhaghani said that freshman long snapper Giancarlo Cereghino — who was tabbed as the top long snapper in his class by 247Sports — would probably be the starting long snapper on field goals, and that the first-year player had been snapping well throughout preseason.
Fifth-year long snapper Salem Abdul-Wahab will most likely handle long-snapping duties for punts after doing so in all 12 games last year.
The biggest change in the special teams department will undoubtedly come at punter, where the Bruins lost their starter from 2025 in Will Karoll, who transferred to Texas Tech in the offseason.
Karoll punted 44 for times on a 43.5-yard average, with 13 downed inside the 20-yard line and just two touchbacks.
The Bruins added Sam Houston transfer punter Curtis Gerrand, who will probably start against Cal after an impressive spring and preseason camp.
At Sam Houston, Gerrand played in all 12 games as a true freshman, punting 64 times for a 43-yard average, including a long of 72 yards, and placed 22 punts inside the opponents 20-yard line.
Rounding out the punter room is sophomore Lennox Miller. The Sydney, Australia, native did not see any game action during his true freshman season at UCLA, but he was ranked as the ninth best punter in his class by Chris Sailer Kicking and a three-star recruit by ESPN. However. Miller will again have a tough time seeing game action in 2026 with the likes of Gerrand and Barry ahead of him.
In the kicking department, following Bhaghani is freshman Mateo Orosco, who probably will not play unless Bhaghani is injured, but was praised by Chesney during preseason camp.
“These two kickers are pretty good. They’re fun to watch and they’re going to battle the whole way through and I’m excited to just watch,” Chesney said. “You know how good Mateen is, but Mateo will be under him and watch this and follow, and just have that to learn from, it’s pretty exciting to watch those two go.”
Bruins on deck
Here are all UCLA games and exhibitions scheduled to be played this week across all sports:
MONDAY, AUG. 24
Men’s soccer vs. CSU Bakersfield, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY, AUG. 27
Women’s soccer at Stanford, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, AUG. 28
Men’s water polo at Cal (exhibition), 5 p.m.
Men’s soccer vs. Denver, 7 p.m.
Women’s volleyball vs. Long Beach State, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUG. 29
Men’s water polo vs. Saint Mary’s in La Jolla (Triton Invitational), 9:20 a.m.
Men’s water polo vs. Bucknell in La Jolla (Triton Invitational), 4 p.m.
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.
