LOS ANGELES – The UCLA football team looks to win its third straight game when it hosts Purdue at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., this Saturday, Sept. 19 for its Big Ten opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network. The Bruins (2-0) and Boilermakers (1-1) will meet for the sixth time and first since 1980.
Fans can purchase tickets for Saturday’s contest at this LINK.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, Calif.)
Kickoff Time: 8 p.m. PT
Television: Big Ten Network
TV Talent: Jason Horowitz (play-by-play), Brock Vereen (analyst), Kelsie Kasper (sideline)
Local Radio (UCLA Audio Network): KABC-AM 790
Local Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Matt Stevens (analyst), Wayne Cook (sideline)
SiriusXM: Radio (177 or 231), App (955)
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA defeated San Diego State, 28-10, last Saturday in Bob Chesney's first game at the Rose Bowl as head coach. After a scoreless first half for both teams, UCLA posted 21 points in the fourth quarter for a second straight week in the win. The Bruins limited the Aztecs to just 45 passing yards, marking their fewest allowed in a game since 2009 when they limited Oregon to 42.
Running back Wayne Knight repeated last week's performance with three more rushing touchdowns. His last 36-yard touchdown run pushed him over 2,000 rushing yards over his five-year career. Running back Jaivian Thomas accounted for UCLA’s other rushing touchdown, marking his second in a Bruin uniform. Wide receiver Semaj Morgan led UCLA with career highs in catches (6) and receiving yards (73). Defensively, linebacker Jalen Woods recorded the first interception of his career in the fourth quarter, which set up a Bruins’ touchdown.
KNIGHT’S HISTORIC START
Knight became the first Bruin in program history to begin his career with six total touchdowns (non-passing). He is the eighth UCLA player since 1970 and first since Zach Charbonnet in 2022 with six touchdowns over a two-game span. Entering Week 3, Knight is tied for the national lead in rushing touchdowns (6), total touchdowns (6) and points scored (32). He also ranks ninth with 8.0 yards per carry.
CHESNEY ERA
Chesney was hired as the 20th head coach in UCLA football history on Dec. 6, 2025. He arrived in Westwood after two successful seasons at James Madison from 2024-25, guiding the Dukes to a 21-6 record and numerous historic firsts. His 2025 team recorded just the 10th unbeaten conference record in Sun Belt history, going 8-0, and captured the program’s first Sun Belt Conference championship and College Football Playoff berth.
Chesney owns a career record of 134-52 (.719720 in his 17th season as a head coach. The Kulpmont, Pa., native has directed five programs across four levels of college football: Division III, Division II, FCS and FBS. Twenty-six staff members (seven coaches and 19 support staff members) and 10 student-athletes followed Chesney from Harrisonburg, Va., to Westwood.
SAMMY-O
Senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho has forced a fumble and led UCLA in tackles for loss in each of the first two games of his Bruin career. Against San Diego State last Saturday, Omosigho totaled seven tackles (3-7-10) and notched 2.5 tackles for loss.
Omosigho was named the Chuck Bednarik Award Player of the Week following his Week 1 performance at California on Sept. 5. The Crandall, Texas, native nearly doubled his previous career high with 14 tackles, including seven solo stops, in UCLA’s 45-24 win at California in Week 1. Omosigho also tallied 2.0 tackles for loss, including a strip-sack.
From 2023-25, Omosigho played at the University of Oklahoma, where he totaled 96 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and one forced fumble over 37 games. He ranked top-five in tackling among all Sooners in both 2024 and 2025 as a reserve.
NEW-LOOK BRUINS
UCLA added a Big Ten-leading 46 transfer student-athletes and 17 true freshmen this offseason. Forty-one players have made their Bruin debuts through the first two weeks of the season. All 12 transfers with James Madison ties have seen game action.
Among them is running back Wayne Knight, who was named a 2025 Paul Hornung Award finalist and Associated Press second-team All-American after setting a school record with 2,039 all-purpose yards (1,373 rushing, 397 receiving, 180 on punt returns and 89 on kickoff returns). Knight enters Saturday’s matchup with 1,908 career rushing yards, 92 shy of 2,000.
UCLA also added junior defensive lineman Sahir West, who was named the 2025 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. West posted 45 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and one forced fumble last season. He set a Sun Belt Championship game record with 5.5 tackles for loss and added 3.0 sacks against Troy on Dec. 5, 2025.
NICO RETURNS FOR YEAR TWO
Iamaleava returns for his second season at UCLA in 2026. He completed 208 of 323 passes (64.4%) for 1,928 yards and 13 touchdowns with seven interceptions last season. Iamaleava averaged 175.3 passing yards over 11 games, missing only one contest (Nov. 15 at Ohio State).
Iamaleava led the Bruins in every rushing category last season: yards (505), carries (112) and touchdowns (four). His 505 rushing yards ranked third among Big Ten quarterbacks despite his appearing in just 11 games. Iamaleava was also one of two Big Ten quarterbacks to gain positive rushing yardage in every game he played last season.
Iamaleava was named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list Aug. 3. The award is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding player. Eighty-one players, including 45 quarterbacks, were selected to this year’s watch list. The Long Beach, Calif., native was also selected to the 2026 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year watch list Aug. 20. Iamaleava, who was a finalist for the award at Tennessee in 2024, is of Samoan descent and has seven siblings.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's contest will mark the sixth all-time meeting between UCLA and Purdue. The Bruins lead the all-time series over the Boilermakers, 3-0-2, dating back to 1950. This two teams are meeting for the first time since the 1980 season (46 years) and first time as members of the Big Ten Conference.
UCLA defeated Purdue, 23-14, in the two program's most recent meeting on Sept. 20, 1980. The decisive play in that contest was an interception by UCLA's Eric Turner off Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann at the UCLA 7-yard line in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. UCLA quarterback Tom Ramsey led an 11-play, 93-yard drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Cormac Carney to put UCLA up, 23-14.
UCLA last played Purdue in Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 1979, when the Bruins upset the fifth-ranked Boilermakers at L.A. Memorial Coliseum. UCLA rushed for 317 yards in the contest, led by running back Freeman McNeil who totaled 176 on 21 carries. A touchdown pass from Rick Bashore to Willie Curran put the Bruins up 21-0 in the second quarter.
UCLA TICKET INFORMATION
Season ticket packages and single-game tickets for UCLA's upcoming football season are available. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or email tickets@athletics.ucla.edu for more information.