The UCLA Bruins are banking on new head coach Bob Chesney being able to handle the jump from the Sun Belt to the Big Ten. The biggest storyline entering this season for UCLA is how Chesney and his coaching staff handle the jump to a Power Four Conference.
So far Chesney is yet to disappoint in his journey from Division III football to the College Football Playoffs with James Madison. After getting blown out in the CFP by the Oregon Ducks, Chesney now finds himself Oregon and the past three national championship schools.
Ari Wasserman of On3 Sports ranked all 18 Big Ten Conference football coaches, with the unproven Chesney at a modest placement of No. 13. In two seasons of FBS action, Chesney has a 21-6 record but keeping that up will be much tougher with the Bruins.
Of the four first-year head coaches, Wasserman has Chesney ranked the lowest, behind No. 4 Kyle Whittingham with Michigan, No. 9 Matt Campbell with Penn State and No. 12 Pat Fitzgerald with Michigan State.
The other three new Big Ten coaches have extensive Power Four experience, as does the top of Wasserman’s list. The reigning champ Curt Cignetti is in the No. 1 spot, with Ryan Day and Dan Lanning rounding out the top-three. For the former Pac-12 teams, Lanning leads the way with USC’s Lincoln Riley at No. 6 and Washington’s Jedd Fisch at No. 8.
UCLA is fresh off of a 3-9 season but optimism is high for the start of Chesney’s time in Westwood.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: On3 Sports ranks Bob Chesney as the No. 13 coach in the Big Ten
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire | USA TODAY Network
