Some UCLA fans are already getting their khakis and polos ready.
One laid out his outfit and posted a photo on X in response to some words that Sean Lewis might regret.
The San Diego State football coach, speaking about the discrepancy between his relatively small-time outfit and the Bruins of the Big Ten, said he would take “me and mine against theirs — all their polos, all their khakis, all their resources, all that; put the ball down, let’s go play.”
What happens when the Aztecs and Bruins play is usually quite predictable.
San Diego State is 1-22-1 all time against UCLA — Bruins fans can blame Chip Kelly for the one loss, in 2019 — heading into their latest meeting Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl.
While the Bruins (1-0) are 12.5-point favorites over the Aztecs (1-0), a safer bet might be Lewis’ words either being posted or referenced in the locker room before the game. Might UCLA coach Bob Chesney go so far as to wear a polo shirt and khakis?
Here are five things to watch in a game that will be televised by the Big Ten Network:
Pump up the volume
So, who’s in?
That’s the only thing left to decide after Chesney implored fans to support his team at its home opener and athletic director Tim Harris sprung for 300 free tickets.
The attendance challenge could have a big payoff if the Bruins exceed the turnout for recent coaches in their Rose Bowl debuts.
DeShaun Foster’s first home game in 2024 — a blowout loss to Indiana — inspired little confidence among the 47,811 on hand who weren’t rooting for the Hoosiers.
In 2018, the Kelly buzz wore off practically by the time the 54,116 who attended his home debut against Cincinnati settled into their seats.
One must go all the way back to Jim Mora’s first home game in 2012 against Nebraska — which drew 71,530 for the Bruins’ victory over the nationally ranked Cornhuskers — to find a worthwhile welcome.
Bringing the juice
If you see the Bruins bouncing around in a repeat of the sideline scene from a week ago, just know where it all started.
Three days before his team’s opener, Chesney told his players about the importance of being engaged no matter the score or point in the game.
“If we’re winning, we’re taking their souls at that moment,” Chesney said, his speech later shown on the team’s X account. “And at the same point, if we’re not, we’re letting them know that we ain’t going anywhere.”
That was exactly the case before the fourth quarter last weekend. As Cal players milled about on their side of the field with the score tied and the Golden Bears holding all the momentum, the Bruins broke into a spontaneous dance.
UCLA went on to score the game’s final 21 points.
“Ultimately, I loved the fact that there was never a moment where they didn’t believe they were going to win that game,” Chesney said, “and I don’t know what’s gone on here before, but I’ve heard it a lot, about, you know, here-we-go-again mentality, that’s not in these guys whatsoever, and I’m really proud of that.”
Staying steady?
A master motivator, Chesney already has his team on letdown alert.
He knows how big early-season wins can be followed by washouts. Back in 2024, he told his James Madison players about all the teams that posted rousing victories before flopping the next week.
Not wanting his team to experience a similar fate, he wrote the score of the Dukes’ 70-50 victory over North Carolina on a board along with a question mark to denote the uncertainty of what might happen the next week against Ball State.
Well, his players got the message, going on to win in a 63-7 rout.
Chesney has made a similar point this week, noting that San Diego State, which routed Portland State by 33 points in its opener, might be better than Cal.
“I think our guys understand that and they’ve got to clean up a whole bunch of stuff before they get to this Saturday,” Chesney said, “but it’s in their hands to just hold each other to the standard.”
Bruins Cleanup operation
One of the top things Chesney wants to fix is penalties.
A week ago, the Bruins were assessed 110 penalty yards, including an illegal substitution coming out of a huddle and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on center Riley Robell for retaliating for some unnecessary shots to quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
While Chesney understood Robell’s sentiment, he didn’t like the result.
“Those are the things that you can’t do if you want to win meaningful football games,” Chesney said. “I think we were lucky in some ways from this one this weekend and it won’t be enough this weekend if we go into Saturday if we play the same exact way we just played.”
A bigger challenge?
Chesney said the Aztecs could be better than the Golden Bears in multiple areas.
“The running back, you liked him last week,” Chesney said, referring to Adam Mohammed, “you’re going to really like the one this week.”
Chesney was presumably alluding to San Diego State’s Javion Kinnard, who averaged 9.9 yards in eight carries during the Aztecs’ opener.
The Aztecs could test the Bruins in other ways, including their tendency to rely heavily on trick plays and excel on special teams after blocking two punts last week.
“They are as aggressive as they can be,” Chesney said.
