LOS ANGELES – The No. 5 UCLA football team opens the month of November with a Big Ten road test versus Minnesota at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, Nov. 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. PT on FOX. A win over the Golden Gophers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) would give the Bruins their (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) fourth 9-0 start in program history.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Huntington Bank Stadium (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Kickoff Time: 9 a.m. PT (11 a.m. CT)
Television: FOX
TV Talent: Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), Jenny Taft (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 (Ch. 85), App (Ch. 85)
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA recorded its first shutout since 2015 with a 27-0 win over Nevada at Rose Bowl Stadium last week. The Bruins matched a season high with four interceptions, including a pick-six from Derrick Barksdale. UCLA held Nevada to 176 yards of total offense, marking the fourth time this season UCLA has held an opponent to fewer than 200 yards. Defensive end Sahir West registered a season-high nine tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, making his third UCLA start under center, completed 16 of 30 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown. Running back Wayne Knight recorded his Big Ten-leading 14th touchdown of the season on a 12-yard reception. He is the first Bruin since Joshua Kelley in 2018 to score at least one touchdown in eight straight games.
RANKINGS RECOGNITION
UCLA, one of three remaining unbeaten FBS teams, has risen from No. 23 to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll over the last five weeks. The Bruins’ No. 5 ranking entering this Saturday’s contest is their highest since Week 8 of the 2001 season (No. 5).
HISTORIC TURNAROUND
Chesney needs one more victory to tie the largest single-season turnaround in program history. The current record is a six-win improvement, achieved in Pepper Rodgers’ second season as head coach in 1972. With last week's win over Nevada, Chesney tied the largest single-season turnaround by a first-year UCLA head coach, previously held by William H. Spaulding over the 1924 (0-5-3) and 1925 (5-3-1) seasons.
CAMPAIGN FOR WAYNE
Fifth-year RB Wayne Knight has scored a touchdown in all eight games this season, marking the longest such streak by a Bruin since Joshua Kelley in 2018. Knight leads the Big Ten in total TDs (14), rushing TDs (12) and points scored (84).
Knight has earned Paul Hornung Award recognition following four of UCLA's eight games, including three National Player of the Week honors.
ELITE RUN GAME
UCLA leads the Big Ten in both rushing yards per game (219.5), rushing touchdowns (25) and yards per carry (5.44). The Bruins have had three different running backs rush for a touchdown in three separate games this year. UCLA is averaging over three rushing touchdowns per game, putting the team on pace for its most rushing touchdowns in a single season since 1976 (3.5 TDs per game, 42 total TDs). The program record is 56 touchdowns (5.09 TDs per game) in 1973.
CHESNEY ERA
Bob Chesney is the first UCLA head coach in program history to start his tenure in Westwood with an 8-0 record. He passed College Football Hall of Famer Henry ‘Red’ Sanders, who started his first season at UCLA with a 4-0 mark in 1949.
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 140-52 (.729) 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 is the FBS leader with five forced fumbles. He’s also third in the Big Ten in tackles for loss (10.5), fourth sacks (5.5) and fifth in total tackles per game (7.8).
Omosigho was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Butkus Award and one of 16 quarterfinalists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy. He is also listed on the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list.
ELITE LINEBACKER DUO
Senior Sammy Omosigho and fifth-year Jalen Woods have blossomed into two of the top linebackers in the nation this season. Omosigho and Woods rank sixth among FBS duos with a combined 8.5 solo tackles per game. Woods (62) and Omosigho (62) could become the first UCLA linebacker duo to each record 100 or more total tackles in a season since 1989.
SERIES HISTORY
This Saturday's contest will mark the fifth all-time meeting between UCLA and Minnesota. The Bruins trail 1-3 in the all-time series versus the Golden Gophers, which dates back to 1962. UCLA is playing its first game in Minnesota since Sept. 24, 1977, which resulted in a 27-13 loss.
UCLA TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets for UCLA’s two remaining home games against Illinois (Fri., Nov. 13) and USC (Sat., Nov. 28) are available for purchase. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or email tickets@athletics.ucla.edu for more information.