In the year 2026, player movement in college football is a given. Nearly entire teams are pieced together with the transfer portal, especially when a head coach is fired and a new one is hired.
The Oregon Ducks went against one such team in Week 2, as they visited the new-look Oklahoma State Cowboys under head coach Eric Morris, formerly of North Texas. He brought along his top quarterback, running back, wide receiver, linebacker and multiple members of the secondary — plus other players sprinkled here and there. The result turned out to be one of the biggest upset victories in Oklahoma State history, as they downed the then-No. 6 Ducks.
Oregon has since turned the page and won games against the Portland State Vikings and USC Trojans in impressive
fashion, setting up a Week 6 post-bye matchup with the UCLA Bruins. Much like the Cowboys, the Bruins welcomed 43 new players to the team after hiring former James Madison head coach Bob Chesney.
The regime shift has led to a complete reversal of the program's outlook, as they went 3-9 in 2025 before starting 2026 with four straight wins. The offense, pieced together with transfers from various different schools, has been the headliner in tying for the sixth-most points scored per game.
Let's break down UCLA's offense, beginning with what they do well schematically before diving into the players to know, determining if the Ducks are built to stop the Bruins and finally what we expect to happen on the field come Saturday.
What do the UCLA Bruins do well on offense?
While last season was discombobulated at times for the Bruins offensively, new coordinator Dean Kennedy — coming over with Chesney from James Madison — has brought a revitalized, intelligent and, thus far, highly-successful offense to UCLA. Kennedy has a history of elevating previously subpar offensive units, as he developed quarterback Kyle Trask at Florida, turned Holy Cross into the Patriot League scoring leader and orchestrated the ninth-ranked scoring offense at James Madison in 2025.
Now, he's doing the same thing at UCLA with a spread-based system that emphasizes physicality and explosiveness at the point of attack. Kennedy's units have consistently been among the best at creating explosive plays, both on the ground and through the air.
While the Bruins won't go under center much at all, instead standing in the shotgun or pistol, they aren't afraid to run it right down the defense's throat. Through the air, the route combinations aren't necessarily complex, but they make it easy on the quarterback to read with a progression-based system.
Who are the top players to know?
QB Nico Iamaleava
Iamaleava's first season in Westwood didn't go as planned in 2025 after transferring from Tennessee, as the Bruins won just three games and he passed for just 13 touchdowns to seven interceptions. Despite that, the former five-star is off to a solid start in 2026, amassing 963 total yards and five total touchdowns, as the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder eats up ground in the quarterback run game and on scrambles. Not the most refined passer, Iamaleava has pieced it together this season by leaning on his legs and a strong cast of backs in the backfield.
RB Wayne Knight
"Electric" is a fitting word for Wayne Knight. The former James Madison standout followed Chesney to UCLA and has promptly produced the best four-game stretch of his career despite sharing carries with fellow backs Anthony Woods, Jaivian Thomas and Iamaleava. Standing 5-foot-7 but weighing 193 pounds, Knight is compactly built with elite speed, breaking off nine gains of 40-plus yards in 2025 alone. Now at UCLA with a better supporting cast around him, Knight has exploded, recording 533 total yards on 9.4 yards per touch with nine rushing touchdowns. The Ducks will have to be cognizant of Knight's ability to hide behind the offensive line and suddenly break loose past the scrum.
RB Anthony Woods
Right there alongside Knight in the backfield is Anthony Woods. Though he's not averaging nearly 10 yards per touch, Woods has still recorded 7.5 yards per carry in 2026 with 269 yards and four touchdowns. Standing 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds, Woods is a of a change-of-pace back with Knight, as Woods has a more traditional running style of churning up yards without the elite getaway speed. Also a strong contributor in the pass game, Woods caught 24 passes for 211 yards and two scores last season.
Are the Oregon Ducks built to stop UCLA?
If they play undisciplined like they did against Oklahoma State, the damage could be even worse than what occurred in Stillwater when the Cowboys ran for 237 yards. In that game, both Oklahoma State's quarterback and running back were able to get the edge around Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti, turning what could've been minimal gains into chunk plays.
The reason that the damage could be even more significant is that UCLA's backfield is much, much more athletic and dynamic than Oklahoma State's. With Iamaleava, Knight, Woods and Jaivian Thomas, the Bruins have four guys who can break a game open if given a sliver of opportunity.
To counter putting so much pressure on the edges, the interior of Bear Alexander and A'Mauri Washington will need to create penetration. While Knight is elite at hiding behind his linemen, he can't do that when they're getting pushed back into his space. Similarly for the pass game, which shouldn't pose much of a threat to Oregon, pressuring Iamaleava could completely eliminate that aspect of UCLA's offense and make them one-dimensional — that is, if the Ducks can keep Iamaleava contained in the pocket.
What should we expect on Saturday?
This a very volatile matchup on the defensive side for the Ducks, in my opinion. There are a wide range of outcomes that could occur.
There's a world where the Bruins can't get anything going, with the Ducks' interior overwhelming Iamaleava and not allowing the run game to even get off its feet. If Oregon plays up to its full potential, this could be a domination of sorts. There's another world where the Ducks are completely run off the field by the Bruins' athleticism in the backfield, constantly a step late and giving up rush yards like water rushes through a dam.
I think the reality will be closer to the middle, as it often is. But I'm leaning towards UCLA's rushing game having relative success in moving the ball down the field — but make no mistake, the Ducks will punch back and have a few of their own bouts of strong play.
The real issue would be if UCLA's rushing attack is so successful that they hit a few deep shots in the play-action game as Oregon's safeties creep up. It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: What should Oregon expect from UCLA's offense?
