Few teams in college football have been hotter over the past two weeks than the UCLA Bruins. After upsetting then No. 7 Penn State, UCLA followed it up with a dominant 25-point road win at Michigan State in Week 7.
This incredible turnaround has certainly been sparked by new offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel, who was made OC just before the Penn State game. While Neuheisel has gotten plenty of shine and media attention, and rightfully so, it's important to remember he's not the head coach. Interim head coach Tim Skipper has led the way in the background, and I believe he deserves a share of the spotlight as well.
Skipper, formerly the special assistant to the head coach, took over after Week 3 when the Bruins sat at 0-3 and parted ways with head coach DeShaun Foster. In his first game as interim head coach, UCLA lost to Northwestern by three points, but it was the first time all season the Bruins actually looked competitive. Following that game, the move was made to part ways with offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri and hand over play-calling duties to Jerry Neuheisel, a decision by Skipper that deserves a ton of praise
Interestingly, this is the second year in a row that Skipper has served as an interim head coach. He served in that role at Fresno State at the very end of 2023 and was their interim head coach for the entire 2024 season while head coach Jeff Tedford was away due to health issues. Last year, Skipper led the Bulldogs to their fourth straight bowl game, finishing with a 6-6 regular season record, which included a 7-point loss to UCLA in the final game.
A former Fresno State linebacker and defensive-minded coach, Skipper is in his 25th season of coaching college football. His career includes stops at a wide range of programs, including Florida, UNLV, Colorado State, Western New Mexico, and Fresno State, where he has spent the majority of his coaching career.
While he may not be getting much of the spotlight for UCLA’s recent success, Skipper doesn’t seem to mind, and made a great decision in letting Neuheisel do his thing on the offensive side of the ball. While it may seem unlikely, we have seen interim head coaches earn their way to becoming the top choice for the full-time head coaching job, and Tim Skipper may be doing just that.
He clearly has the respect of the locker room with how hard this team has played despite a terrible start to the season. The rest of the way won’t be easy, with four games remaining against currently ranked opponents (Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State, and USC) but at this point, Skipper is in a can’t-lose situation as losses are basically expected, and any win is a bonus. No matter what happens the rest of the season, Skipper deserves a ton of credit for leading UCLA football during its best two-week stretch in quite some time.