UCLA football felt some disrespect despite the Bruins ranking fifth in the AP Poll. The College Football Playoff poll plugged UCLA at No. 8, behind two-loss Texas. Now the Bruins gained a vocal backer in Joel Klatt after beating Minnesota 34-20 Saturday.
The verbose Fox Sports analyst dropped the mic with this statement directed toward the CFP committee.
UCLA continues to hum along under first-year Bruins coach Bob Chesney. The Bruins are off to their best start since the 1998 season now that they're 9-0 overall. Yet that UCLA team tripped up toward the end of the regular season, falling to Miami 49-45 when the Bruins were ranked No. 3 that season. UCLA then lost in the Rose Bowl to Wisconsin to finish the year.
Yet now this Bruins team has become galvanized through the former James Madison coach. Including leaning into backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach amid Nico Iamaleava losing the rest of his 2026 season with a torn ACL injury.
The Cal Poly QB transfer Dieffenbach completed only eight passes out of 16 attempts. But he racked up 303 yards through the air and torched the Golden Gophers with three touchdowns. Dieffenbach averaged an astonishing 18.9 yards per play, including hitting this 75-yard dime.
DIEFFENBACH TO MIZELL FOR ANOTHER 75-YARD TOUCHDOWN!
That's two in back-to-back drives for @UCLAFootball pic.twitter.com/10OEHyMRlO
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 7, 2026
He turned Aidan Mizell into a 100-yard performer, catching two passes for 105 yards with both receptions becoming scores. Running back Wayne Knight racked up 109 yards on 18 carries and scored one touchdown.
Now UCLA closes the regular season with two home games inside the Rose Bowl, starting with the Nov. 13 showdown against 6-3 Illinois. Then they go to Ann Arbor the following week to face Michigan. Perhaps the Nov. 28 crosstown showdown with USC determines who'll play for the Big Ten title.