POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 27, Nevada 0
Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl Stadium)
October 31, 2026
Bob Chesney, The Angelo M. Mazzone III UCLA Head Football Coach
opening statement
"8-0, obviously, a shutout. Things that we needed to be able to do, some really good defensive plays that showed up in there, and then just a lot to be desired in that moment on the offensive side. But I thought overall to get yourself to 8-0 was a big deal, and to shut a team out at any level is a big deal. Wins are not the easiest thing to come by. I like where we're at, and there's a whole lot more that we've got to continue to step up. These next four games are going to be very physical, and what we put out there at moments isn't going to work. So, we understand that, and we'll be right back to the drawing board."
on second half adjustments
"We stayed committed to the run game, but we didn't nail on it, and I think there were a couple of things that popped in there. And then I thought Ty (Dieffenbach) got a little more comfortable. There's a lot of defense, a lot of different coverages that they were throwing at us out there, and I thought he just got a little bit more comfortable being able to deliver the football and then making a couple of plays here and there. But I thought Semaj (Morgan) over the middle, obviously, was a big one in there. There are a couple other things that I thought our guys finally bared down and we were able to just deliver. We had opportunities out there. We just didn't connect on a couple."
on the UCLA defense and its consistency
"I think they play a brand of football that's exciting and physical and disciplined and tough, and that's what you have to be on that side of the ball. And they understand their role when their numbers are called, and when they are isolated in coverage, they do a really good job. Now, you are never going to play a perfect game, but at the same point in time, their mentality and the brand of football they’re playing is exciting. They love being out there. They have confidence. They fly around and have a lot of trust.”
on what needs to happen to start a bit faster on offense
“Well, I thought desire-wise, I thought that what we did with our preparation put us into position to be able to do some things. We just didn’t connect. And that’s all stuff that we have got to go back and watch and figure out and watch and make sure we understand, maybe the intent of the player and why against a certain coverage this ball should go here very quickly. We just missed on a couple of those things. When you get stuck holding onto the ball, you get stuck holding the ball, and then not a lot of good happens after that. There were things that showed up early that we should be able to deliver on, and we’ve got to back. Without watching it all, it’s hard to answer that in true specifics.”
on UCLA wide receiver Brian Rowe Jr. getting hit on a play near the sideline
“No, I don’t have an update on him yet. We’ll figure it out. We’ll figure it out. I don’t know exactly how ready he was or wasn’t.”
on a play-action call with Ty Dieffenbach to Wayne Knight
“I just think that they were really aggressive to the running back, probably thinking and had not had it – we hadn’t really put Ty on the film as running the ball a lot. He’s capable. He is big enough. He can take hits and do a lot of things with the football in his hand and the run game, we just haven’t done it. I think they fully committed obviously, to Wayne down there, which they should. And to watch Ty pull two of them in crucial moments was a big deal.”
on if an 8-0 start feels different for him, now as a coach at a major program such as UCLA
“Not really different. I think that for me, you know, after every win you feel like there is so much work to be done. I don’t think you ever walk out of a game regardless of what it is and feel like, ‘Man, we have arrived, we’ve made it.’ Not one guy on this team probably feels that way – not one coach feels that way, so with every win, it’s nice. You have to enjoy them, because it is not easy to do. But at the same point in time, there is a lot of work that still needs to go into this thing. We have got to get better. We’ve got to better. We’ve got to get better.”
on UCLA linebacker Trent Hendrick
“Well, he’s done a good job and he has come in in some of those packages, some of the more base packages, and he has made an impact. We know who he is as a player. He led out team at JMU a year ago, and he was the defensive player of the year. He is very capable. I think, you know the two guys on front of him are playing some pretty good football. It’s nice to have him, Donnie (Donavyn Pellot), Spin (Drew Spinogatti), all of those guys. That’s a room that is a really physical and dominant room, and we are blessed to have the depth we have in there for sure.”
on the defensive front and what that group does to help force interceptions in the secondary
“Yeah, a lot, a lot. Now, how many sacks were there today? There were a lot of times we were hitting him in the backfield, when the quarterback gets that uncomfortable, and you will start taking some chances and throwing it up pretty quickly. We have got to be opportunistic on defense. I like that we have done with that. Scooter (Jackson) could have had another one out there, but most of the time, when it comes our way, we have done a good job of capitalizing on it. I think that is the sign of a good team.”
on the consistency of his punt team and on field goals
“Yeah, what were we, two of three, right? Yeah, I mean, the one right before half, we were rushing out there, and ultimately, just pushing it – he’s got a long enough leg to make that. And there is nobody harder on Mateen (Bhaghani) than Mateen, so I know that he’ll be right back to work.”
UCLA quarterback Ty Dieffenbach
on UCLA’s running game
“Yeah, I mean, the defensive ends were respecting our run game and they were crashing pretty hard, so the pull was there today a lot.”
on where the offense can make adjustments and build momentum
“I see that the sky’s the limit for our offense. A lot of throws like last week, that I want back, which I got to keep working on in practice, but once you put it all together, this is going to be good. We're getting there. We’re getting there for sure.”
on what needs to happen to start quicker on offense
“I think we got to come out fast and not shoot ourselves in the foot. We' just coming out fast and just having a lot of energy. I mean, defense starts fast all the way, so we can just feed off them. But yeah, just coming off faster.”
UCLA defensive back Derrick Barksdale
on the UCLA defense setting the tone
“Yeah, it's just a testament to wild of our hard work that we put in. We practice hard, we play hard, we play hard together as well. So, it's a testament to all of our hard work.”
on reading the Nevada quarterback
“Really, it was just trusting the guys behind me, playing as one, and playing as 11. Being able to trust the guys and just trusting the guys to make that play and then celebrating with me, that was the biggest part. So just playing together, that was the biggest one.”
on playing together as a defense and its “ball hawk” mentality
Yeah, it's a blessing to be able to have a lot of cover guys back in the secondary. We all work hard, we all teach each other as well, you know, we see something in each other's technique. We're quick to change. We're equipped to help each other on it. So, it's definitely a blessing to play with a talented group like that and we're going to keep moving on.”
UCLA defensive lineman Aiden Gobaira
on the success of the defensive line
“Yeah, we were only able to play well due to our linebackers on the back end playing elite coverage. Making sure that we were free to be making plays. So, it was good to see that our plan worked and I look forward to next week.”
on the cohesion of the UCLA defensive line
“That should be our standard. We're always going to try and play physical, fast, and as many plays as we can. In the defense, in our team, not looking to search for a play, but making the plays that come to us.”
on what enables the defense to have new players step up and make impact plays
“I would say our preparation. We can prepare each week, in and out, like it's our super bowl. We gotta be 1-0 every week. That’s our motto.”
on his journey as a football player
“Still a lot more to do. Obviously, it's nice to reflect on what happened and what could have happened, but, you know, I'm still here in this moment, still trying to play elite football. So, can't get too caught up in what happened.”
on slowing down the Nevada rushing attack
“Just our physicality. We came into the game just knowing that we have to be more physical than the man across from us. We did a great job of that.”
Nevada Head Coach Jeff Choate
opening statement
“Congratulations to UCLA, No. 7 team in the country, one of the best defenses that I've seen on tape in a long time. Not ideal way to start the football game. Three consecutive interceptions on three possessions, and one of those being a pick six. Defensively, we made them earn everything they got, with the exception of the one drive where we had them backed up and we had two offsides penalties that extended drives, and another penalty that extended that drive. Really, other than that, I thought we had a good scheme. Our kids played fast. We had some guys go down in that game and that put us in a tough situation. But that's part of football. I felt like it was really difficult on Brett (Bartolone). Going to AJ (Bianco), we knew there were some things that AJ could do, but also sometimes AJ could be his own worst enemy and we felt like we needed to make sure we protected him a little bit more. So, down the stretch, we went with Reeve (Slone), felt like he gave us the ability to have some plus-one run stuff that was going to be a little bit more effective against what they were doing to us. The four interceptions today, the last one, unfortunate. Hate to see that for Reeve. Thought our guys continued to compete and play hard and I'm proud of that. We've got some important things in front of us in league play that we need to turn our attention to.”
on his team’s strong defensive play
“I think I think we have a really confident defensive football team that owns the scheme. There were actually some things that, if we had executed a little bit better in some situations where one guy slanting the wrong way or something like that, that gave them some creased plays. But I'm proud of those guys and that's kind of what the expectation and the standard is on that side of the ball for us.”
on starting quarterback Luke Duncan
“I think everybody saw that there were some balls sailing. He wasn't comfortable in the pocket. He wasn't transferring his weight, throwing off his back foot, even the balls that weren't intercepted were in harm's way. And just felt like, hey, we’ve got to calm this guy down and get him out of there. Not destroy his confidence, let AJ operate the offense for a little bit. Probably a couple of things that we shouldn't have done with AJ that we got away with. At that point, it was like, no, just get him out. Let's let the youngster go and get us out of the game.”
on containing UCLA running back Wayne Knight
“They mixed a lot of different guys back there. We didn't really give him a ton of chunk runs, which was positive. But they have a they have a three-headed monster back there. Six (Anthony Woods) and 21 (Jaivian Thomas) are really talented players, as well. One of the things that they do that is unique, is they do kind of line changes on their offensive line. I think the probably think there's not that big of a separation and so we're just going to keep these guys fresh. And I think that's one of the things that helps them run the ball effectively, especially in the second half.”
on what he can take into next game against New Mexico
“There are some similarities, stylistically, between what UCLA does, really on offense and defense, and what New Mexico does. One of the things I talked about with our guys is like, hey, look, we got a really good rep today. We got a really good rep. We saw a really good team, and we had to adjust to the speed of the game, and we had to adjust to some of the scheme things. We've got to be a week better in terms of some of those things. We did not find effective runs throughout the game and that's something that we're going to have to do a week from now, take some pressure off the quarterback. But I did like how we were able to push the ball downfield, vertically, some in the throw game. But I think that's the biggest thing. When you play a good team, you have to you have to rise to the occasion. You have to be better. That can only benefit you down the road.”
on if his guys saw they could hang with a team like UCLA
“Yeah, I don't think our guys were intimidated by the reputation, specifically on offense. Defensively, there were some one-on-one matchups up front that were very problematic for us. You can only chip guys so many times without not having any guys out in the route. That was a frustration, obviously, throughout the course of the game. Our inability to find a way to run the ball efficiently -- and that doesn't mean we have to rip off seven yards a carry – but move the chains, keep the clock moving, those types of things. I do think that, again, there's some things that we can take from this game that will help us be a better version of ourselves on Friday night.”
Nevada edge rusher Dylan LaBarbera
on how he feels
“Yes, sir. That one hurt. But I just thank the Lord for the opportunity to play this game, and thankfully, everybody's getting out of here relatively healthy. I think we’ve just got to look forward to the next one. Windshield's bigger than the rearview mirror me, so just move on. We practice tomorrow, got a short week and we’re going to go bring it to New Mexico.”
on not being intimidated by UCLA and what he liked about the defense’s performance
“Yes, sir. I'm very proud of my teammates, man. They stepped up in a big way. They're as physical as they come, they're going to bring in every play. And I'm just proud of them.”
on what he proved to himself
“I just thank the Lord. It’s all from Him. I'm just happy to be here. I'm just so thankful. Always was a dream of mine. It's just crazy that I'm here. Just thank the Lord.”
on his defense limiting the run, especially Wayne Knight
“I think we just fired off the ball, hit our guys, shed some blocks. They did their thing, and I'm proud of my guys.”
on what he can take from this game
“I think we take away that we showed that we're a physical outfit and we can play with anybody. And we're going to bring it no matter who it is.”
on what he saw from EJ Smith
“Yeah, I'm so proud of EJ. He did his thing. He flies around, he smacks people. He talks a little bit, but he gets it done, so he's allowed to. Very proud of him. Hope he can continue to do his thing.”