This post was updated Sept. 7 at 12:08 a.m.
UCLA football (1-0) opened its 2026 campaign with a 45-24 victory over California (0-1) in front of a sold-out California Memorial Stadium crowd Saturday night. The Bruins’ first opening-night win since 2024 also gave Bob Chesney his first positive tally as UCLA’s head coach. Daily Bruin Sports editor Jacob Nguyen gives his five biggest takeaways from the Bruins’ successful Week One.
[Related: The Bruins are back: UCLA football opens season with late-night triumph over Cal]
JKS is an NFL quarterback
Forget about the Bruins for just a second.
Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele doesn’t play like he’s a sophomore.
While early, Sagapolutele has been tabbed by many as a top-three signal-caller prospect in the 2028 NFL Draft, and he’s flashed the tape to back that up.
After throwing for 3,454 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2025, the Ewa Beach, Hawai‘i, local opened the new season with 271 passing yards, demonstrating keen playmaking both out of the pocket and when forced to scramble.
The young lefty connected immediately with his new receiving weapons in Ian Strong and Chase Hendricks for a combined 160 yards on just 11 catches. Sagapolutele is always a threat on deep passes, and he showed that Saturday night when he consistently towed both sidelines to find his X and Z receivers.
And it was that arm that kept Cal within striking distance for much of the game. After going down 21-10 early in the second quarter, Sagapolutele took less than 40 seconds to march up the field from the Golden Bears’ own 13-yard line before finding tight end Mason Mini for a score. And he’d do it again on their opening drive of the second half, chewing off over eight minutes to even the game at 24.
Although his back-to-back interceptions in the fourth quarter eventually shifted the momentum away from the Golden Bears, Sagapolutele was largely why they stayed in the game in the first place.
Run, run, run
Dare I say UCLA has three RB1s.
The Bruins’ running back room trampled the Golden Bears for 230 rushing yards across three players, while no one had more than eight carries.
After tying for the third-fewest rushing touchdowns in the country last year, UCLA reached more than half of its count from 2025, finding the end zone six times on the ground – half of which were from fifth-year Wayne Knight.
All night, it seemed like explosive play after explosive play, and the capacity to cycle through so many viable options with diverse strengths kept Cal’s defense on its toes.
Pair that with a stable offensive line that opened up tight seams and well-timed outside blockers for jet sweeps, and UCLA saw three consecutive scores late in the game to run away with the match.
Not to mention, offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy brought over his creative, fast-twitch offense from James Madison that helped Knight break the program’s all-purpose yards record and produce the sixth-best rushing offense in the nation in 2025.
And it was this scheme that helped Nico Iamaleava thrive under center. Unlike last year, the senior quarterback had structure in the pocket, showing a much higher IQ in knowing when to hold the ball for designed runs or hand it off to one of his halfbacks.
Because if it isn’t one of UCLA’s monster running backs bolting at you, it may as well be the 6-foot-5 signal-caller.
Bruins are bullying
The “Bruin Bullies” were UCLA’s defensive mantra all summer under first-year defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler.
And Saturday showed that they weren’t sugar-coating that title.
Out-tackling the Golden Bears 83-45, the Bruins had three defenders make more tackles than the leading Golden Bear’s six, with two reaching double digits.
Pacing the squad was senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho, who operated the middle of the field with precision, laying low for tackles in open space while also applying additional pressure on the rush. In his Bruin debut, Omosigho logged 14 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, as well as a sack and a forced fumble.
Senior defensive back DJ Barksdale added a second sack on the night, with the Bruins recording a fifth of their nation-worst 10 sacks last season in just the first game.
While fifth-year linebacker Trent Hendrick – the 2025 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and a late offseason addition – saw minimal playing time as he gets acclimated to the Bruins’ playbook, fifth-year Jalen Woods lined up next to Omosigho all night to add another 11 tackles.
UCLA’s ability to close up B gaps and break past opposing tackles limited a Cal rushing attack that had just 119 yards. While running back Adam Mohammed went for 120 himself, he did so on 28 carries, with much of those gains coming on the Golden Bears’ opening second-half drive.
Take out that possession, and Mohammed had just 73 rushing yards.
Simply put, where the Bruins have the most offensive potency may be where opponents have the hardest opportunity to find success themselves.
Secondary strength
The front seven wasn’t alone in the defensive masterclass, either.
One of UCLA’s few bright spots in its 3-9 campaign last year was a secondary that allowed the Big Ten’s fourth-fewest passing yards with 2,359.
And less than 24 hours before the game, news of senior Scooter Jackson being available to play after battling academic ineligibility over the summer may have been the vibe shift the blue and gold needed. As a squad, the Bruins posted seven pass breakups, including two from senior Rodrick Pleasant.
Although Sagapolutele was a threat all night, UCLA didn’t make it any easier, especially in the game’s waning moments against Cal’s last-ditch efforts for a comeback. After the Golden Bears’ third-quarter touchdown, the Bruins forced five consecutive stops, including three turnovers on downs.
While an early exit from fifth-year Tao Johnson – who was knocked down after a play – hampered the unit, there was depth to spare, with senior Ta’Shawn James grabbing back-to-back interceptions in the fourth quarter to shift the momentum in favor of a momentary stalling offense. Following James’ first pick, Knight immediately took it up the field 31 yards for a touchdown.
And when the Bruins forced five incompletions in Sagapolutele’s final drive of the night, that was all she wrote.
The Chesney Train looks real
I feel like I’ve been writing about this imaginary locomotive all summer.
The last thing I wanted to do was make all these optimistic comments just for the feeling to be squashed in Chesney and Co.’s very first game.
I guess this is why they say to knock on wood, right?
Maybe they meant fifth-year Anthony Woods and his 118 rushing yards on just eight carries.
Sorry, bad joke.
But with all the hype surrounding this past offseason, fans were itching to see it in action or to see if it was all for naught. And they got what they wished for right out of the gate.
It happened on Iamaleava’s very first drive when he took an RPO into the end zone for a nine-yard score.
It happened every time a Bruin halfback exploded past multiple defenders for a long score.
And it happened when UCLA fended off late-game drives from one of the nation’s best young arms.
By no means was Saturday a perfect game – Chesney knows that – but it was a healthy indicator of what the Westwood faithful can hope to see for the rest of the year.
Because that’s what the Bruins needed: hope.
For now, bring on SDSU.
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