UCLA practice takeaways: preparation for Illinois, Bob Chesney's culture

After beating Minnesota to improve to 9-0, UCLA now turns their attention to an Illinois team that has won four straight games.

Head coach Bob Chesney met with the media on Monday, and offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler spoke with the media following Tuesday’s practice. Here are some of the major takeaways from those sessions.

Preparing for Illinois’ Grinding Style

Of Illinois’ four straight wins, each of the last three has come in a relatively low-scoring, grinding game, presenting a potential challenge for UCLA’s offense to play through that style. Kennedy cited the Illini defense’s ability to keep the ball in front of them and limit big plays as their primary strength.

“You can’t really be searching for explosive plays,” he said. “I think the past few games, they’ve done an unbelievable job of really forcing offenses to go three, four, five, six yards a time. And that’s kind of what we have to be okay with doing. Being in that grind-out game, and in those [types] of situations, you’ve just got to make sure you get into third and manageables … if they get you in third and long, that’s a huge advantage for them.”

Hitschler was less specific, but still offered praise for the Bruins’ upcoming opponent.

“They got really good players in a really good scheme,” he said. “And I think they know where they are, and they know how to use each other and complement each other well. And they’re tough. Their head coach is tough. Their offensive coordinator’s tough, and I think they have a good sense of how to attack a team, and they make adjustments week to week really well. I think they’re a good offense.”

Bob Chesney’s Impact

UCLA’s success, which earned them the No. 8 spot in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings, has been one of the major surprises of the 2026 season. In his first Monday press conference since those rankings were revealed, Chesney offered some of his most reflective comments on how he and his staff built the culture that led to their results thus far.

“It was not by accident. It was purposefully done,” he told reporters. “And when you put enough of the right-minded people together in that locker room that are willing to fight and get after it every single day together, and pay attention to all the little things, and stay positive, and attack it urgently, and if it doesn’t work, relentlessly pursue those three things again and again and again. That ultimately is, to me, what leads us to where we are here today.”

As with every other stop in his career, Chesney has quickly turned the Bruins into contenders following their 3-9 season in 2025.

“I think it’s really his ability to deliver belief into other individuals,” Kennedy said. “That’s how this program’s run — regardless of what this program did or didn’t do last year — is that when we walked in and when he walked in, everybody thought we were going to be here, and that’s what everyone believed in, and everyone still believes. We walk into every game, no matter who we face, that we’re going to win the game. And that’s what you have to have, that type of mentality.”

Chesney has become well-known for his intensity and involvement during practices, and the results have led to a significantly more positive feeling around the team than last season’s struggles.

“He’s much more focused on the energy of the practice than anything else, and I think by doing that, it creates this upbeat atmosphere that guys love being out here, and it’s contagious,” Hitschler said. “It wears off on everybody around the program.”

At the same time, Hitschler said he hasn’t had much time to think about the current state of the team, beyond preparing for their next game.

“These weeks go so fast,” he said. “I know seven days to an average person is a long period of time, but for us, it flies by. I could tell you what I’m going to be doing every Tuesday at 1 o’clock or every Wednesday at noon. So it’s just a rat race that you’re in, and all you can think about is the next meeting, next practice, next play, and that keeps you humble too.”