2026 is a fresh era for UCLA football. A new head coach who has revolutionized the program from top to bottom creates an unfamiliar feeling of optimism after a 3-9 campaign last year.

This post was updated Aug. 31 at 1:38 a.m.
UCLA football is days away from opening the 2026 campaign against former Pac-12 rival California. Daily Bruin Sports gathered some of the biggest questions surrounding the squad in its first season under coach Bob Chesney.

I knew hardly anything about college sports when I graduated high school.
But it didn’t take long to learn that UCLA was not a football school.

This post was updated Aug. 31 at 1:25 a.m.
The Chesney era is just around the corner, with UCLA set to kick off Sept. 5 against former Pac-12 rival California in Berkeley.

This post was updated Aug. 30 at 11:47 p.m.
For nearly nine months, the hype surrounding coach Bob Chesney’s debut season in Westwood has grown by the day.

As UCLA football enters its first year under coach Bob Chesney and third season in the Big Ten, Daily Bruin Sports will preview the personnel of the Bruins’ position groups and predict their 2026 outlook prior to the season’s opening game Sept.

This post was updated Aug. 30 at 11:58 p.m.
As UCLA football enters its first year under coach Bob Chesney and third season in the Big Ten, Daily Bruin Sports will preview the personnel of each of the Bruins’ position groups and predict their 2026 outlook prior to the season’s official start Sept.

As UCLA football enters its first year under coach Bob Chesney and third season in the Big Ten, Daily Bruin Sports will preview the personnel of the Bruins’ position groups and predict their 2026 outlook prior to the season’s Sept.

This post was updated Aug. 30 at 11:52 p.m.
UCLA football begins its 2026 season Sept. 5 against California away at California Memorial Stadium. After a discouraging 3-9 campaign last year, the Bruins begin a new era under coach Bob Chesney, with both former conference rivals seeing major roster turnover and staff changes during the offseason.

This post was updated Aug. 30 at 10:37 p.m.
There may never have been a more confusing time to be a college football fan.
Just two days after UCLA football’s newest member – fifth-year linebacker Trent Hendrick – transferred to the program after receiving a temporary restraining order from a Louisiana court, granting him and several other athletes a fifth year of eligibility, the Big Ten became the first FBS conference to pass a rule that bans NFL players from returning to play in the conference.