Bob Chesney didn’t need much time to remember what Autzen Stadium is like.
As UCLA gets ready to face Oregon again, the Bruins’ coach made it clear he still has a fresh feel for the place after leading James Madison into Eugene in the 2025 College Football Playoff. That game ended in a 51-34 loss for the Dukes, but it also gave Chesney a first-hand look at one of college football’s most intense road settings.
“It was dark, it was a night game, it was cold, it was loud, it was all those things. And there wasn’t a lot of games being played overall in the football world at that moment.
So, there was a lot of eyes on that,” Chesney said. “But they did a great job.
Their fans were extremely involved. They were loud.
They did everything the right way.”
He also pointed to the physical setup of the stadium itself.
“It’s tight there. Those sidelines are pretty tight, and it’s a steep stadium that definitely they have a chance to impact that game,” he added.
That steep design is part of what makes Autzen such a tough place to play. The source describes it as a “potato chip” layout, with higher sideline barriers and lower-strung end zones built to push noise through the building.
James Madison still managed to move the ball that night. The Dukes scored 34 points against Oregon, with purple and gold streamers flying after every touchdown from a packed visiting section. Chesney’s team finished with 323 passing yards and 186 rushing yards against the then-No. 5 team in the country.
Wayne Knight was a big part of that ground production, running for 100 yards against Oregon. He’s set to see the Ducks again on Saturday, only this time in a different uniform. Before that 2025 matchup, Knight also talked about Chesney’s effort to recreate the Eugene atmosphere in practice.
"I think the easiest thing is just being able to replicate the environment that we're going to be in. Coach [Bob] Chesney kind of touched on it, you know, the music we're going to play and, you know, those kind of things," Wayne said.
Chesney’s move to UCLA also brought a familiar wave of former James Madison players with him. He brought 11 former Dukes to Los Angeles during the 2026 offseason, and several of them are part of this Bruins group headed back to Oregon.
The list includes Wayne Knight, Trent Hendrick, JD Dean, Drew Spinogatti, Landon Ellis, Aiden Gobaira, Carter Sweazie, Sahir West, Josh Phifer, Riley Robell and Derrick Barksdale.
That kind of roster overlap is part of why Oregon coach Dan Lanning drew a comparison between UCLA and the Indiana Hoosiers, as well as 2025 national championship-winning coach Curt Cignetti, who also brought players with him from James Madison.
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