What Tim Skipper Said After UCLA's Upset Over Penn State

The UCLA Bruins achieved what seemed to be impossible, given the season behind them, by taking down the No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions, 42-37.

Bruins interim coach Tim Skipper got his first win in the blue and gold, and did it astoundingly.

Here's a transcript of Skipper's passionate postgame presser:

On Jerry Neuheisel installing the offense:

“I’m going to start with this, he’s a coach's kid. You move around the country when you are young, you’re trying to figure out all your new friends and things like that. Before he even became a coach, he has dealt with having to be ready to go at any time. It was a short week for him to get ready. He did a great job of using stuff we have been doing and adding new to it. We wanted to control the time of possession and slow things down. The plan worked to a T. That was a game of a lot of situations. There were a lot of things happening. We just kept the guys calm, and took it one play at a time – Jerry did a great job of that.”

ucl — Oct 4, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins interim head coach Tim Skipper (left) and new offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel (right) on the sideline during second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

On Nico Iamaleava's big game:

“Big-time players make big-time plays, and that’s what he did out there. There are times when we have drop-back passes and nobody is open. Ad he just takes off, he makes a guy miss and it springs an explosive run. He’s a player, he’s a football player. It doesn’t matter what the play call is, you always have to account for him. He rises to the occasion, that’s the thing I love about him. There’s no pressure too big for him. He applies pressure to defenses. I am happy for him, he’s our leader of the team. He was the number one vote getter for captains, and I love that kid and appreciate him so much.”

On UCLA's big plays all game, including the onside kick:

“We were going to be super aggressive, but not do dumb things. The plan was to score a touchdown first, we were going to go to it [onside kick]. A lot of film study, just watching those guys on kickoffs – and when they are on kickoff return and seeing that outside guy, if he was just going to run early, and over a two-year study, they always ran over when we had a little motion guy going. It was a long study. We felt confident in it and it worked. We practiced that thing just this week. It wasn’t something we have been doing all season. This week we did it, Mateen Bhaghani had a great kick. We completed a kick pass and it worked to a charm. We are going to always be aggressive. That’s just my nature and the nature of the team now, and we are going to continue to do that.”

On Iamaleava using his legs:

“We were going to run the ball more, whether that was Nico or our running backs. We were going to run the ball, that was an emphasis for us this week. It doesn’t matter who’s doing it, we have a lot of guys who we think can control the line of scrimmage, and get positive yards on the ground. We are going to call numbers for different people and they have to take advantage of the situation. WE did a great job of running the ball by committee.”

ucl — Oct 4, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) runs with the ball during the third quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

On the safety towards the end of the game:

“We were going to take that safety because we are up seven. We knew they were going to try and hold us up, so if they are holding us up then we are going to have more time to eat up the clock. I believe it was eight seconds we took off – doing the safety. That was huge. Now it limits the plays they could execute, and we wanted the field to flip. By taking the safety, we can now kick it off and flip the field. It worked amazingly – something we have been practicing for a while, taking a safety on the punt team. I am so happy for those guys, it was a well-executed play.”

On what UCLA's locker room looked like postgame:

“A disaster. There is water flying everywhere and there is music. There are guys who are dancing who can’t dance, coaches trying to be dancers. It was exciting to be in there. Saturday’s after games have been kind of lonely and sad, and this will be the first Sunday where we kind of celebrate a little bit before we get ready for another tough opponent.”

On Neuheisel's play-calling:

“Jerry is a ball coach. He’s coached multiple positions on the offense. He’s a coach’s kid. He attacked it, as soon as he knew he was going to call it [offensive plays], let’s go to work, and he went straight to work. We used every single hour and second and minute you could possibly use all the way up to kickoff. We did walk-throughs this morning, getting all his new stuff in there. He did a great job. Love that guy because I just love the work ethic and the patience he has. The guys, they really respond to him. You can see true love and belief and that was amazing.”

ucl — Oct 4, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9,right) hugs new offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 42-37 at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

On UCLA's effort and fast start:

“We wanted to control the game. That’s why we wanted to run the ball, and it all starts with the big boys up front. They have to control the line of scrimmage. They were creating openings. We know their D-line and linebackers are really really good, so we had to put bodies on those guys. We just wanted to control it one play at a time, just take it one play at a time, and that’s exactly what we did. We actually have never talked about not leading for a game, somebody told me about it that’s how I knew. We never talked about it or anything, we just went out there and played ball today. We just went out there and took the lead, and fortunately for us we kept it.”

On UCLA's defensive performance:

“A big deal is starting fast. You guys heard me after the Northwestern game, I didn’t like the way we started. We practiced a little different, I went good on good, ones versus ones. As soon as stretch was over we went against each other to kick start things. That was a big part of it for us. IT worked out. I could see a difference, the guys were excited and ready to go right from the jump. That was huge and awesome for the guys to take practice to the game. Defensively, I liked the way we played. That’s a top notch team over there.

"The ultimate goal is to win, it’s not to keep points down. You know you would always take that, but you have to make the plays to win the game. Those were some crucial stops that happened, we had the stop, the second to last possession, that was a big stop on fourth down, and then we took care of the clock situation at the end when they are trying to lateral it and things like that. Guys playing with correct leverage and things like that. I think they only had seven (points) at halftime, and that was huge. We are just going to keep on sawing wood and just keep on playing ball. That’s defense right now, just get the stop when you need to. We had a turnover and things like that, just keep playing ball, that’s all it is.”

On getting win No. 1:

“College football is crazy in multiple ways. You just take whatever happens each day and you keep on striving to stay on the rise. I’m a passionate, emotional, energetic type guy, and that’s what I bring every single day. You never have a bad day unless you declare it a bad day. Every day is a good day if you want it to be good. Stay positive, figure out solutions, and you keep on rolling. Staying on the rise is a big thing to me, and that is what we have been doing.”

ucl — Sep 27, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; UCLA Bruins interim head coach Tim Skipper talks to a official during the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

On maintaining the lead:

“Everybody in that locker room stayed together, they stayed together. There were many storms happening throughout the last two weeks, but we found the daylight. We found the sunshine, and we kept on working. That’s all it is. You just keep on working. There is going to be more stuff this week. WE are going to have to overcome it, and we are going to have to go play. I am proud of everyone in that locker room, players and coaches, to get this thing done. So proud.”

On keeping everyone focused:

“Block out the noise is the main thing. You always want to block out the noise. Tell the guys, when it’s football time, it’s football time. A major distraction, school just started. That’s a major distraction, that’s included in all the other stuff. We have to always just stay the course. But, when we are doing football, we are locked in on football. The outside, everything you are hearing and the situation doesn’t’ matter, it’s time to get better with football. Whether we are on the field, or in meetings, in walk-throughs, it’s about the ball. We are just focused on that, we are going to continue to be focused on that, and we are going to need to keep getting better and better. It’s a long season left, lot of game to be played, and we are excited for the opportunity to keep on fighting and battling.”

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