There wasn’t much movement at the top of this week’s USA TODAY US LBM Coaches Poll, with the UCLA Bruins remaining at the No. 4 spot after their 22-14 win over Illinois.
The win moved UCLA to 10-0, matching a single-season win record for the program. UCLA is joined by No. 2 Utah as the only unbeaten teams in the Top-25. The first nine spots in this week’s Coaches Poll were all unchanged, with Georgia staying in the No. 1 spot ahead of Utah, Notre Dame, UCLA and Indiana.
No. 5 Indiana knocked off USC with a backup quarterback but the Coaches Poll still had the defending national champions behind Bob Chesney and the Bruins. Indiana is the second-highest ranked Big Ten team, with Iowa moving up to No. 13, Oregon moving up to No. 14, Ohio State rising
to No. 17 and USC dropping to No. 19 after the Trojans’ third loss of the season.
It’s hard to believe that UCLA is on the doorstep of their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance while Lincoln Riley and USC are still searching for their first playoff bid. The Bruins struggled mightily in recent years but Chesney’s presence has cured all, with UCLA exceeding all expectations in 2026.
UCLA staying put makes sense, they had to dig deep against a talented Illinois team, ultimately getting just an eight-point win. If the season were to end with these rankings, UCLA would get a first round bye in the CFP before facing the winner of No. 5 Indiana and No. 12 BYU.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA stays put at No. 4 in this week's in the US LBM Coaches Poll
