""They were rolling," Skipper, UCLA's interim coach, said this week, "and we found a way to go get that thing done." It's a memory that sticks with Skipper more than a quarter of a century later because it had been the only nationally ranked team he was part of taking down as a player or interim coach before his then-winless Bruins pulled off a stunner of far greater proportions this month when they upset then-No. 7 Penn State."
"Remain in the running for the Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff berth. Move into the national rankings with a .500 record. Vault Skipper into the running for not just the permanent UCLA job but every major college coaching vacancy in the country. Commence a bidding war among every major film studio for the rights to the Bruins' 2025 season."
""I don't really think anything from the past is going to do anything for this game," Skipper said. "I'm one of those people that thinks every single game has its own history, its own identity, so we're going to have to go out there, we're going to have to play Bruin football.""
Tim Skipper, a former 5-foot-6 redshirt freshman middle linebacker, helped Fresno State upset No. 18 Air Force in 1997. That victory remained his most notable win against a ranked team until UCLA, then winless, upset No. 7 Penn State this month. UCLA (3-4 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) can, with a win over No. 2 Indiana (7-0, 4-0), stay in Big Ten title and College Football Playoff contention, enter the national rankings at .500, and boost Skipper's candidacy for permanent jobs. Skipper stresses that every game has its own identity and must be played on its own terms.
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