UCLA will face Purdue, Michigan State, among others at home next football season

The Big Ten Conference announced on Tuesday the opponents new head coach Bob Chesney and the Bruins will face during the 2026 season.

Whether the games will be played at the Rose Bowl or SoFi Stadium remains to be determined, but the Bruins will not be suiting up against Curt Cignetti and defending national champion Indiana.

UCLA will hard launch the Chesney era on the road against rival California on Sept. 5 at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

Bruin fans will get to welcome their new play-caller during its first home game on Sept. 12 when they face San Diego State.

Big Ten play will begin on Sept. 19 when Purdue visits UCLA for the first time since 1979.

After traveling 7,606 miles last season, Chesney and his team will leave the Pacific time zone only once during the first eight games of the season. UCLA will be traveling to Maryland for the first time since 1955 on Sept. 26.

The Bruins will fly north after a bye week to face Oregon and its $3 million quarterback, Dante Moore, on Oct. 10. The Ducks reached the CFP semifinals where they lost to the eventual national champion Hoosiers.

Moore, the one-time UCLA quarterback, was slated as the second pick in 2026’s NFL draft, but decided to return to Eugene for a second year. During his freshman season with the Bruins in 2023, he completed 114 of 213 passes with 11 touchdowns for 1,610 yards.

The Ducks will enter the season as one of the favorites to win the national championship.

Soon after, UCLA flies back to Southern California for a three-week home stretch where they will face Wisconsin (Oct. 17), Michigan State (Oct. 24), and Nevada (Oct. 31) for its final nonconference match.

The last four contests will consist of a trip to Minnesota on Nov. 7, the Bruins will host Illinois on Nov. 15 and face Michigan in Ann Arbor for the first time in 1996 for their final road game. UCLA will end the season against crosstown rival USC on Nov. 28.

With Wayne Knight transferring from James Madison and quarterback Nico Iamaleava returning, can Chesney turn around a 3-9 team?

Only time will tell.