Oct 11, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; UCLA Bruins interim head coach Tim Skipper looks up at the video board in the fourth quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images

Tim Skipper Wins Week 7 Superlative For UCLA's Dominant Win

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Connor Moreno | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 4:15 PM ET

Tim Skipper may not be getting all the credit across social media, but his turnaround of the UCLA Bruins has been one of the biggest revelations of the college football season.

Following their stunning win over then-No. 7-ranked Penn State last week, Skipper's phrase of the week was "Are you a one-hit-wonder?"

The phrase reached every player, and the Bruins came out with a dominant 38-13 win over Michigan State. The widely publicized motivation tactic landed Skipper on ESPN's Week 7 Superlatives for 'Best Motivational Tactic.'

Here's what the ESPN staff said about Skipper's tactic:

"One week after pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the season, UCLA kept things rolling with a 38-13 win over Michigan State.

"Part of why UCLA was ready to keep its momentum on track after such a big win? A unique tactic was deployed by interim coach Tim Skipper before the team's flight to Michigan. Skipper placed a sheet of paper reading "Are you a one-hit wonder?" on each seat of the UCLA team plane.

"The Bruins -- who have scored 30-plus points in consecutive power conference games for the first time since 2022 -- proved they were not one-hit wonders."

Skipper's take on the tactic:

Following Saturday's win, Skipper spoke on not being one-hit-wonders:

“Yeah, that was a message starting on Sunday. We preach it every day moving up. We just wanted to see who we really were, that was the whole thing about it. We wanted to come out and play 60 minutes of football, and we did that today. We strained, not being one-hit wonders, all those things, we're putting them all into the games now and that's exciting to see.

"We'll have to continue that. The future is going to get harder and harder as we keep on going. We'll have a tough matchup on homecoming playing against Maryland. We're going to need all the Bruin fans to be there, that's the start of the message right now. Start thinking about how you're going to get to the Rose Bowl next Saturday.”

The Bruins proved this week that their Penn State upset wasn't just a stroke of luck, and that a turnaround is fully underway. UCLA (2-4, 2-1 Big Ten) plays host to Maryland next week.

This article first appeared on UCLA Bruins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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