Lane Kiffin sarcastically described it as “riveting.”

FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt wrote, “I genuinely feel bad for these JMU players…” 

Former Ohio State running back Beanie Wells posted that he was “disappointed in the powers-that-be that let this happen.” 

This was the kind of misguided outrage aimed at James Madison and the College Football Playoff committee for pitting a Group of Five conference title winner against one of the sport's perennial powerhouses in the CFP first round last season. 

“I think there’s moments in here where I said where I feel like we could play with them,” said head coach Bob Chesney after his team’s 51-34 loss in Autzen Stadium last season. “I think that today the complementary football and us playing elite just did not exist.” 

In the lead-up to last season’s CFP opening round rout, James Madison was one of the most entertaining teams in college football. The Dukes dominated the Sun Belt. They scored points in bunches, led by electrifying players like quarterback Alonza Barnett III and tailback Wayne Knight. Until that night, James Madison’s only loss came on the road against a good Louisville team in Week 2.

Things can change quickly in one college football offseason. Barnett III is now the quarterback for UCF. Knight is now a Bruin. And Chesney, the man who followed in the footsteps of Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti by taking James Madison to newfound heights, is in the midst of an epic UCLA rebuild on the eve of a return to Autzen Stadium on Saturday.

It’s a loaded slate of games in Week 6, built for the suspicious minds who wonder which “top” teams are actually for real. To celebrate the occasion, we’re giving away a $500 Bass Pro Shops gift card to the winner of our weekly pick’em contest. Sign up to support our independent college football operation and pick 12 games against the spread to play for the prize. You have until noon ET on Saturday to enter.

By signing up to support the show, you’ll also unlock exclusive perks built for the most loyal fans, including ad-free episodes, bonus content, access to our Discord chat and more.

Join as a Certified or Premium Verballer by clicking below, and we’ll send you an email with instructions for how to submit your winning entry.

Before morphing into one of the hottest coaches in college football, Chesney never found a job he wouldn’t try. 

He mined coal in his hometown of Kulpmont, Pennsylvania. He dished out vodka and Red Bulls at a bar in Baltimore. On the field, he’s worked damn-near every job on a football staff, ranging from strength staff to special teams coach. 

Long before rising to one of the sport’s premier conferences, Chesney coached in places like Northfield, Vermont; Doylestown Township and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Newport, Rhode Island; and Worcester, Massachusetts. 

He climbed the ladder the hard way, hustling to make a living. He coached in places nobody else wanted to coach. And he did a heck of a lot of winning, as evidenced by the numerous winning seasons and playoff appearances he notched along the way.

At Holy Cross, Chesney transformed the Crusaders’ football program, compiling a 44-21 record and winning New England Football Writers Coach of the Year twice. With Chesney at the helm, Holy Cross won five straight Patriot League championships. In 2022, he led the Crusaders to the FCS quarterfinals — the deepest run in school history in nearly four decades. 

In the years before Chesney left Holy Cross for James Madison, the Dukes were fresh off an incredible stretch of high-level football.

James Madison reached the FCS national championship in 2019 and the semifinals in 2021. In 2022, the school made the leap to the FBS ranks. Over the next two seasons, the Dukes won 19 games, earned a Top-25 ranking, and hosted College Gameday, under then little-known coach Curt Cignetti. 

We know how that story goes. Cignetti left for Bloomington, Indiana, and the rest is history.

Being the man who follows the man is no easy feat. But Chesney met that challenge head-on. His time at James Madison was brief, but his impact will be felt for a long time. Under Chesney, the Dukes went 9-4 in 2024. The very next season, he guided James Madison to an 11-1 regular season, before winning the Sun Belt title and earning the program its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance in 2025.

Football runs in the Chesney blood. Just ask Bob Chesney Sr.

At a few of Chesney’s coaching stops, his father would come out in August and stay in the dorms, just like the players and coaches. On a few different occasions, Chesney Sr. went so far as to come out and rent a place during the season to help out in any way he could.

Chesney grew up watching his father coach football at North Schuylkill for 35 years. He learned plenty about X’s and O’s, but more than that, he learned lessons that extended far from the football field. 

Chesney saw his father give high school players rides. He saw him check in on his players’ families. He got a first-hand look at what it meant to be a mentor and pillar of the community, the type of things no book or coaching clinic can teach you.

“It had nothing to do with a profession,” Chesney told ESPN. “I didn’t know (coaching) was a profession.” 

Before the Bruins stepped on the football field this fall, Chesney went viral for all the right reasons. 

Standing before his players inside the team football facility, he asked a few important questions: “Who is the guy who makes the omelettes? What’s his name?” 

“Alan!” his team shouted. 

“You should know that, right,” Chesney said. “You should also know Willie out there. You should know everybody else that’s in there.” 

He challenged his team to “think of them as someone’s sister, someone’s aunt, someone’s something…because they are someone’s something.” 

That moment was a direct reflection of the type of person Chesney is and always has been.

We didn’t need another reminder that he’s a great guy, but we got one anyway. 

Not long after Oregon’s Dante Moore was hospitalized after a nasty concussion in Los Angeles during the USC game, Chesney offered a helping hand to Moore and the Ducks’ football program, according to Oregon coach Dan Lanning. 

“He texted me as (UCLA) was traveling back to LA and said, ‘Hey, if you need my help with Dante (Moore) or anything and he’s still in LA, I’ll go check on this guy. I’m giving the team off tomorrow; let me know,” Lanning recalled on last week’s Jim Rome Show. 

“It speaks to the kind of person he is,” Lanning said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him and his program.” 

Entering the 2026 college football season, experts pegged UCLA as a potential feel-good story. 

The Bruins retained quarterback Nico Iamaleava, brought in tantalizing transfers like Knight, and, depending on who you ask, had a favorable start to the season. 

Fast forward to now, Chesney’s Bruins sit at 4-0 with one of the more impressive offenses in college football. 

Whether by circumstance or plan, UCLA now possesses one of the most fearsome rushing attacks in the country. Knight is off to a blistering start with 445 yards and nine touchdowns through four games. Anthony Woods and Jaivian Thomas have started fast too, with the pair chipping in 424 yards and seven touchdowns combined. 

As good as the running back room has been, it all starts up front. UCLA was aggressive in the transfer portal last cycle, remaking its o-line room with former JMUers Riley Robell, Carter Sweazie, and JD Rayner, alongside the likes of Hall Schmidt (Boise State), Jordan Davis (South Alabama), Mack Indestad (Eastern Michigan), Sean Na’a (Arizona State), and Derek Osman (Harvard). Eugene Brooks was the lone returner. 

This group has come together nicely and has done an excellent job of opening up holes for Bruin backs. 

Defensively, UCLA is still a work in progress. The Bruins gave up 24 and 38 points in wins over Cal and Purdue. They’ll face a big test this Saturday when the group squares off against the Oregon offense, led by backup quarterback Dylan Raiola and a bevy of former four- and five-star players up front, in the backfield, and on the outside.

When Chesney walked off the Autzen Stadium turf last December, he hugged every player on his roster. 

“...I just told them to be proud of what they did all year, and as disappointing as today is and tonight is, still just be really proud of what they accomplished,” he said in the post-game presser.

Chesney never had a linear path to college football coaching stardom. 

He took jobs no one else wanted. He coached in places no one had ever heard of. He’s defied the odds every step of the way and has no intention of slowing down now. 

Maybe he’s wired that way. Or maybe he learned that from his father. 

Last December, his old team’s season ended. On Saturday, his new one’s just getting started.

College Football Week 6 is packed with matchups that could confirm everything we think we know about the 2026 season, or force us to reconsider. We preview Georgia-Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where two SEC heavyweights face a major test, and Texas-Oklahoma in a Red River rivalry featuring plenty of questions about both offenses.

Can Indiana keep rolling against an improved Nebraska team? Is UCLA ready to challenge Oregon in Eugene, especially with questions surrounding the Ducks' quarterback situation? And what happens when USC travels to Penn State for a White Out with both teams looking for answers? We break down the matchups, debate what matters most, and make our picks against the spread.

Plus, we run through more than 20 games across the weekend, including Texas A&M-Missouri, LSU-Kentucky, Ole Miss-Vanderbilt, Iowa-Washington, Florida State-Louisville, and Iowa State-BYU. We've also got our Quad Fathers picks, under-the-radar games, locks of the week, and the Window of Opportunity.

➡ Listen/watch on your favorite apps