MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck tells his team to row the boat, everyone pulling in unison.
UCLA’s Bob Chesney instructs his players to burn the damn things, their resolve being the only thing they need.
Whose team will stay afloat Saturday in the battle of the metaphors?
The stakes seemingly couldn’t be bigger for the eighth-ranked Bruins, one of three undefeated teams left in major college football.
If UCLA (8-0 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) can beat the Golden Gophers (5-3, 3-2), they’ll take one of the biggest remaining steps needed to reach the College Football Playoff.
It won’t be easy at a place where Minnesota has won 11 of its last 12 games, going undefeated in Big Ten play since 2024.
“This is as tough a team as we’ve faced and probably will face,” Chesney said. “Playing at their place, early start – all the things that come with it – there’s going to be uncomfortable moments that occur throughout the course of this game.”
The boat will go from a symbol to the literal focus of Huntington Bank Stadium before the game and between the third and fourth quarters, when an alumnus – and then a member of the band – bangs a drum and the fans mimic the motion of rowing a boat.
If the scene looks familiar, it’s something Norway popularized during the recent World Cup.
Here are five things to watch in a game that kicks off at 9 a.m. PST on FOX:
History in the making?
Maybe the mistake UCLA kept making over all those dreadful years of football was not hiring a sitting head coach.
The last two they’ve hired – Chesney and Pepper Rodgers, who came from Kansas in 1971 – went on to engineer the biggest single-season turnarounds in program history.
Rodgers’ 1972 team went 8-3, a six-win improvement over a team that went 2-7-1 the previous year. Of course, that meant that Rodgers’ improvement was over his own disappointing debut season.
Chesney is cleaning up the mess left behind by predecessor DeShaun Foster. If the Bruins beat the Golden Gophers, they will improve to 9-0 for the first time since 1998 – the last time they won a conference title.
Barring an epic late-season collapse, Chesney is probably a lock for Big Ten coach of the year.
Ty time
Quarterback Ty Dieffenbach is 3-0 as UCLA’s starter, but all of those games came at home.
The senior transfer from Cal Poly does have experience in a tough road environment, having helped the Bruins hold off Oregon after replacing the injured Nico Iamaleava just before halftime at Autzen Stadium.
While Dieffenbach has been a competent game manager, completing 59% of his passes for 683 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, Chesney intimated there was a lot more upside to his game.
“This is a giant week for him and the receivers to all get on the same page and everybody start clicking on all cylinders,” Chesney said.
“It’s time.”
UCLA Takeaway kings
UCLA’s offense is always just a moment away from needing to retake the field.
That’s because the Bruins defense leads the nation with 26 takeaways, including 16 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries. The team is plus-15 in turnover margin. Their +1.9 turnovers per game rank atop all of college football in 2026.
The primary ball hawk has been senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho, who leads the Football Bowl Subdivision with five forced fumbles and ranks third in the Big Ten with 10.5 tackles for loss. Omosigho is a semifinalist for both the Lombardi Trophy and the Butkus Award.
Always in field-goal range
Minnesota has a middling offense, but the same thing cannot be said about the Golden Gophers’ kicker.
Luke Drzewiecki has been as clutch as it gets, making a 46-yard field goal as time expired two weeks ago to give Minnesota a walk-off win over Iowa.
Last week, Drzewiecki made all three field goals, including a 51-yarder and a 60-yarder that was the second longest in school history. He’s made 26 consecutive field goals dating to last season, giving him the longest active streak in the nation.
Injury report
UCLA will likely turn to Chase Barry at punter after Curtis Gerrand, who has averaged 44.7 yards while making every punt this season, was listed as out on the Big Ten availability report.
The Bruins will also be without cornerback Rodrick Pleasant, wide receiver Jalen Saint Paul, defensive lineman Ashton Sanders and linebacker Ryan McCulloch in addition to Iamaleava and wide receiver Mikey Matthews, who were previously lost for the season.
Offensive tackle Jordan Davis, who has missed the last three games, is listed as questionable. But the Bruins are expected to get back left guard Eugene Brooks, who missed the last two games, as well as safety Tao Johnson, who has played in only two games this season.
Minnesota center Ashton Beers, who started the first three games of the season, is out, a fate shared by fellow reserve offensive lineman Brett Carroll. The Golden Gophers will also be missing a trio of reserves in defensive back Garrison Monroe, running back Ryan Estrada and wide receiver Hayden Moore.
