LOS ANGELES – The UCLA football team hosts San Diego State at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., this Saturday, Sept. 12 for its 2026 home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network. The Bruins (1-0) and Aztecs (1-0) will meet for the 25th time and first time in Pasadena since 2019.

Fans can purchase tickets for Saturday’s contest at this LINK.

GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, Calif.)
Kickoff Time: 4:15 p.m. PT
Television: Big Ten Network
TV Talent: Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play), Brett Hundley (analyst), Emma Carpenter (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 (178 or 231), App (955)

KNIGHT TO REMEMBER
The Bruins are coming off a 45-24 season-opening victory at California last Saturday in Bob Chesney’s debut as UCLA’s head coach. UCLA averaged 8.7 yards per carry as a team and outscored California 21-0 in the fourth quarter. Chesney improved to 13-4 in season openers during his head coaching career.

UCLA totaled six rushing touchdowns, its most against an FBS opponent since beating Arizona in 2015. Running back Wayne Knight accounted for three of those scores, notching his first career multi-touchdown performance. He became the first player to score three touchdowns in his Bruin debut since Zach Charbonnet in 2021. Knight totaled a team-high 157 all-purpose yards, including 71 rushing yards, 30 receiving yards and 56 yards on kickoff returns. Running back Anthony Woods led UCLA with 118 rushing yards and added two touchdowns.

B1G WEEKLY HONORS FOR JAMES
Defensive back Ta’Shawn James earned Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors Monday. James recorded the first two interceptions of his career on back-to-back California possessions in the fourth quarter of UCLA’s win, leading to 14 points. James, who entered the game as a reserve, finished with eight tackles, the most among UCLA’s defensive backs and third-most on the team overall. He became the first Bruin to intercept two passes in a game since former UCLA All-American linebacker Carson Schwesinger did so in a homecoming victory over Iowa on Nov. 8, 2024.

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 133-52 (.719) 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 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, making the fourth start of his collegiate career, 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.

NEW-LOOK BRUINS
UCLA added a Big Ten-leading 46 transfer student-athletes and 17 true freshmen this offseason. Thirty-eight players made their Bruin debuts during the Week 1 victory at California. All 11 transfers from James Madison saw 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
Senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 14 of 22 passes for 184 yards in UCLA’s 45-24 victory over California. He recorded four completions of at least 20 yards: two to wide receiver Mikey Matthews and one each to wide receiver Landon Ellis and running back Wayne Knight. On the ground, Iamaleava scored UCLA’s first touchdown of the season on a first-quarter run, marking his 11th career rushing touchdown. He finished with 29 rushing yards.

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 25th all-time meeting between UCLA and San Diego State. The Bruins lead the all-time series with the Aztecs, 22-1-1, dating to 1922. UCLA will host San Diego State at the Rose Bowl for the 10th time in series history and first since 2019, when the Aztecs earned their first and only win over the Bruins, 23-14.

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.