When Brett Hundley visited UCLA before the season, he had a sneaking suspicion the football team would exceed expectations.
But the former star quarterback of the Bruins never envisioned it going this well.
UCLA is 9-0 and up to No. 4 nationally in both the AP and coaches polls after a 34-20 win over Minnesota on Saturday.
Hundley, who played eight years in the NFL after a strong three-year run at UCLA, is watching with excitement to see just how far the Bruins can take this.
“When I went up for fall camp, I said from the jump: With (new coach Bob) Chesney, something’s different,” Hundley said in an exclusive interview.
“The culture he had, the players. I didn’t expect them to do what they’re doing now, but I’m so happy, because the sky is the limit for this team.”
When starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava was lost for the season with a leg injury on Oct. 10, many expected a downturn for the Bruins.
But backup Ty Dieffenbach has kept the team afloat, and just turned in his best performance of the season. Dieffenbach was 8-of-16 for 303 yards with three touchdowns and an interception against the Gophers, which included a pair of 75-yard touchdown passes to Aidan Mizell.
Hundley broke into a big smile when asked what it’s been like watching Dieffenbach step in and play well.
“It’s been awesome,” Hundley said. “The one good thing they have is that they don’t put a bunch on the quarterback. But Dieffenbach has been playing great. Last week alone, they were running the football, but they were throwing the football better than anything.
“That last game, I needed to see. Minnesota is a great team at home, so everybody was probably going in thinking, ‘We’ll see how they stack up. They beat Oregon but we’ll see what happens in this back-stretch.’ It was a dominant performance. I was so happy to see that.”
UCLA was unranked heading into the season, following its 3-9 showing a year ago. But now Hundley considers them a true national championship contender. For fans weighing up where the Bruins go from here, our Kalshi promo code page has the latest sign-up offer.
“I think they should be,” Hundley said. “I truly think they deserve to be there. With next week against Illinois, then at the Big House (vs. Michigan), and finishing with USC — if we can get through that stretch undefeated, there is no question (UCLA can win the national title). These are all tough, tough opponents.”
UCLA was unranked heading into the season, following its 3-9 showing a year ago. Hundley: Rodgers, McCarthy disagreements ‘not disrespect’
Hundley’s first NFL stop was with the Packers, who drafted him in 2015. He played three seasons under coach Mike McCarthy, and was in the same quarterback room as Aaron Rodgers.
McCarthy and Rodgers eventually parted ways, but have found themselves back together with the Steelers.
Pittsburgh is 6-2 and in first place in the AFC North coming out of its bye week. Rodgers, 42, says this is his last NFL season. McCarthy is in his first year coaching the Steelers in his native Pittsburgh.
“It’s a potential fairytale ending,” Hundley said. “Even when (McCarthy) was in Green Bay, he always had that Pittsburgh accent. I’m happy for them to be able to finish their careers together when everyone said there was beef in Green Bay. I hope they go far in this last ride for them.”
The high-profile disagreements that happened in Green Bay have also popped up in Pittsburgh, but Hundley said dissent is a major part of a quarterback-coach relationship.
“This is what playing football is about,” Hundley said. “I wouldn’t want to be in the trenches with somebody I couldn’t scream at. It’s not like it’s disrespectful. They are pushing each other. Aaron likes certain things his way. McCarthy likes certain things his way. At the end of the day, they’re both Hall of Famers in their own right. You’re naturally going to have that.”
Hundley: Kyler Murray never fit Vikings’ scheme
Hundley was in Arizona when the Cardinals took Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in 2019.
Murray won Rookie of the Year and made two Pro Bowls within his first three seasons, but his career has since flatlined.
Murray has struggled during his first season with the Vikings, and Minnesota traded for veteran Kirk Cousins on Tuesday, which will send Murray to the bench.
“I personally thought he was going to do a lot better when you look at the Vikings’ past QB history of coming in and revamping their career,” Hundley said. “I said before the season I thought that would happen with Kyler, but I haven’t seen what we’re used to seeing with him.”
“That offense is built around timing,” Hundley said. “If you threw Brock Purdy in there, he’d be a great fit for that offense. That’s the type of quarterback. I think Kyler is a great quarterback, but it’s just not a true fit. When he was drafted in Arizona under Kliff Kingsbury, the offense was built around him, and that’s where Kyler had his best years. We haven’t seen that (in Minnesota).”
While Arizona was willing to create an offense that accentuated Murray’s strengths, Hundley said that wasn’t the case in Minnesota.
“When you come in as the No. 1 pick, they will build the offense around you,” Hundley said. “Now you don’t get that luxury. You come in and they say,
‘We’re running this. Do with it what you can. And if you can’t succeed in this and lead us to where we want to go, we’re going to find somebody else.’ It’s not that same pull when you come in as the No. 1 pick. So it’s an interesting spot to be in.”
Hundley: Game experience will be ‘huge’ for Carson Beck
Rookie quarterback Carson Beck is expected to make his debut for the Cardinals on Sunday against the Rams following an injury to Gardner Minshew.
It’s a rough spot considering Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett will be hunting him, but Hundley said getting game reps will be invaluable for Beck the rest of the way.
“It’s huge,” Hundley said. “I learned the most my third year in the NFL, when I actually got playing experience. You just can’t mimic that.”
The Cardinals signed veteran Josh Johnson in the wake of the Minshew injury, but the expectation is for Beck to be the guy under center.
While some have advocated keeping Beck on the bench until he’s completely ready, Hundley says it’s time for game action.
“It’s not throwing in the towel on the season,” Hundley said. “If you do good, great, but you’ve got to check on the upside here. At this point, you’ve got to let the young guys play and see what they’ve got.”
Hundley: NFL players deserve to partner with gambling companies
Hundley last played in the NFL in 2022, and his exit coincided with the meteoric rise of sports betting advertisements and partnerships.
Hundley said players couldn’t partner with sports betting companies when he was a player, and the rules are much looser now.
“It’s so much different,” Hundley said. “There is so much money being flooding into the league now that they’ve opened this up. It’s great to have a bigger pot. When I was playing, they wouldn’t allow us to sign with or do any cross-promotions of gambling. Now all the players go to watch parties. It’s so different.”
Hundley is happy to see the players getting another avenue to cash in on their marketability before their careers end.
“I always thought it was bulls—,” Hundley said. “It’s like college players getting paid. If you’re making money off the backs of players, and we’re all sitting here watching these guys, they need to get paid however much they can from the outside, because this game is so short.”
