Five game stretch will determine Tim Skipper's UCLA future

Tim Skipper took over the interim head coach role for the UCLA Bruins on September 14, 2025, following the firing of Deshaun Foster. This was at the time seen as a move that was temporary to finish the season until a head coach search could take place. There wasn’t much excitement around UCLA football. That continued as Skipper lost his debut against 17-14 versus Northwestern.

But then came Jerry Neuheisel and Kevin Coyle and now UCLA is on a three-game winning streak. Those opponents are no cakewalks either as they have beaten Penn State, Michigan State and Maryland. UCLA is now 3-4 on the season and 3-1 in Big Ten play. That has started to raise questions on if Skipper could win this job permanently.

Enter the toughest stretch the Bruins could ask for. They head on the road two of the next three weeks to play the top two teams in the country in Indiana and Ohio State. The Indiana showdown will be the Big Noon Kickoff game with millions tuning in to see if UCLA is the real deal.

Skipper has been great getting his guys ready to play. But this five-game stretch that also includes USC, Nebraska and Washington will make or break his real chances at grabbing the gig for good. One would think he needs to split the Ohio State and Indiana pair and beat USC and Nebraska. It is a very tall task, but he has hit every mark along the way.

UCLA is rallying around their new coaching staff and there are exciting times around the football team right now. Skipper has exceeded odds to even be in this position. He will need to continue that if he wants to complete the feat of going from an 0-4 nightmare to winning the job outright from other candidates.