LOSANGELES — “Zero picks all season!” UCLA safeties coach Anthony DiMichele yelled, with an expletive sprinkled in, during practice on Wednesday.
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The gauntlet was thrown at the Bruins’ defense to become the first team this season to intercept a pass by an Oregon quarterback, whether it be Dylan Raiola or Dante Moore.
That challenge was matched by the charismatic voice of Bob Chesney Sr., the father of the first-year UCLA head coach, who asked the No. 21 Bruins if they would get more than the four interceptions they compiled in their 54-3 rout at Maryland. Chesney Sr. is a volunteer assistant who spent 53 years coaching high school football in Pennsylvania and regularly joins his son at practice.
“You’ve got great receivers coming up against you and an elite tight end, stable running backs that are elite and a Heisman (Trophy) candidate or two,” UCLA defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler said of the 13th-ranked Ducks. “Who wouldn’t want the opportunity to play against that? Schematically, they put a lot of obstacles in front of you. There’s a chip on our shoulder there, and we have to find a way to slow it down.”
Hitschler and many others on Bob Chesney’s staff are hoping to see different results after they came up short at James Madison in December in a 51-34 drubbing by Oregon in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Moore torched the JMU defense, called by Hitschler, on 19-of-27 passing for 313 yards and four touchdowns. Returning sophomore Jordon Davison rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, as the Dukes allowed 201 yards on the ground at 7.7 yards per carry.
“You learn from every opportunity and every game,” Hitschler said of the season-ending defeat more than 10 months ago. “Win or lose, any good coach or any system is going to learn from previous mistakes. Obviously it wasn’t good enough when we played them last year and would love to play them again last year, but that’s not how it works. It’s one and done, and you’re knocked out. It is what it is. Regain, reload and gain a group of new guys, and let’s see how we can attack them slightly differently or hit them again.”
The sense of urgency from Hitschler came out. He was overheard yelling at his defense, commanding more effort.
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“Every day there’s a lot of intensity of practice,” Hitschler said. “You win Tuesday through Friday, you tend to win the game on Saturday. Just crossing our i’s, dotting our t’s, and let’s see what we can do to slow down this offense.”
UCLA (4-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) enters as an 11½-point underdog – the first time it hasn’t been favored this season – on Saturday in Eugene. Each team is coming off a bye, with UCLA hitting plenty of high notes in its 51-point road throttling of the Terrapins the week before. The Ducks (3-1, 1-0) went home winners on Sept. 26 after a 41-27 road win against USC.
SAINT PAUL RETURNS TO EUGENE
Along with UCLA’s familiarity on defense comes the spotlight on Oregon transfer wide receiver Jalen Saint Paul, who committed to the Ducks in February 2024 before announcing he was heading to Westwood in May 2025. He didn’t record any statistics in Eugene.
After playing in two games with no receptions for the Bruins last season, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior from Carlsbad High caught two passes from Nico Iamaleava for 11 yards in the 28-10 victory over San Diego State on Sept. 12.
Bruins offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy believes Saint Paul has made strides since joining UCLA and could be a precursor to a successful reunion for the former Duck returning to Autzen Stadium.
“He’s been coming on really strong,” Kennedy said. “He’s been coming on really strong. He’s earned reps. First game he didn’t play as much. Each game he’s taken steps for a young guy. It speaks to his preparation and his intelligence level because we do move receivers. We have them play the inside and the outside, and it’s not easy. For him to pick that up and gain the trust. It’s huge. He’s gaining the trust of (Iamaleava), and that’s a huge piece of their chemistry.”