The last time UCLA had a football coach who started 4-0 in his debut season, the school still didn’t know what to make of its bespectacled basketball coach who looked more like a professor.

Guy by the name of John Wooden.

Wooden had just completed his first season in the fall of 1949 when Henry Russell “Red” Sanders guided the Bruins football team to victories over Oregon State, Iowa, Oregon and Stanford.

That team lost its next game — against Santa Clara — but Sanders turned out OK, leading UCLA to the 1954 national championship and what might have been a dynasty if he didn’t die of heart failure before the 1958 season.

None of the next dozen head coaches who cycled through Westwood could match Sanders’ stirring start.

On Saturday, Bob Chesney can do just that.

Chesney’s Bruins (3-0) could improve to 4-0 — and possibly move into the national rankings after getting 10 votes in the AP poll this week — with a victory over Maryland (2-1) at SECU Stadium.

Here are five things to watch in a game televised by Big Ten Network beginning at 10:30 a.m. Saturday:

Protective order

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava twice briefly departed his team’s 52-37 victory over Purdue last weekend after injuring various body parts.

He hurt his hand, fell on his shoulder and also appeared to suffer a leg injury. That ushered top backup and younger brother Madden Iamaleava into the game for two series, with Madden throwing the first pass — an incompletion — of his college career.

What can the Bruins do to keep Nico from absorbing so many hits, particularly while running the ball?

Chesney said the quarterback often has the option to check down into a pass play when he instead spots a weakness in the defense and takes off running.

“He’s pretty special when he gets a chance to run,” Chesney said, “but he’s just got to make sure he just keeps himself safe.”

The drive for five

UCLA linebacker Sammy Omosigho has perfected the “Peanut Punch” after a lesson from its inventor.

Former NFL cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman spoke to the Bruins about his go-to move in the spring, something Omosigho has put to good use this season by leading the nation with four forced fumbles over the first three games.

“He finds that ball, you know, he seeks that ball, and then he’s got a pretty powerful punch,” Chesney said, “so I think that’s all part of the timing and the location and the accuracy of that punch. That puts you in position, and he does a good job of doing that without sacrificing a tackle.”

Omosigho has also thrived in that department, ranking second in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 21 tackles and third with 6.5 tackles for loss.

A primary concern

UCLA’s secondary is hoping for a better showing against Maryland quarterback Malik Washington after struggling to stop Purdue’s Ryan Browne.

Browne completed a 75-yard touchdown pass on his team’s first offensive play and barely slowed down on the way to throwing for 378 yards and three touchdowns.

Washington had a similarly spectacular showing in the Terrapins’ loss last week, throwing for 359 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

Hot seat watch

Maryland students started filing out of SECU Stadium at halftime last weekend, with the home team already down big against Virginia Tech.

There’s no telling if they’ll return to see the Terrapins face UCLA given the widespread dissatisfaction with Mike Locksley.

The Maryland coach is firmly on the hot seat after back-to-back 4-8 seasons, and his team’s 35-26 loss to Virginia Tech in its first real test of 2026 seemed to sap any remaining enthusiasm.

“I understand why the fans are frustrated,” Locksley told reporters this week. “They’ve earned the right for us to play better than we have.”

All aboard

Flying cross-country will allow the resumption of an annual Chesney tradition.

Four busloads of family and friends are expected to make the roughly three-hour trip to the game from the coach’s hometown of Kulpmont, Pa.

It’s something they’ve done every season since Chesney got his first head coaching job at Salve Regina in 2010.

“I’m extremely appreciative of that,” Chesney said of the support. “There’s a lot of people in there that I owe a lot to, right? You don’t do this on your own, and I think growing up in that town, growing up with those people and just the true close bonds that we have, it’s family, and I think you know that makes it special.”