UCLA at No. 2 Indiana
When: 9 a.m. PT Saturday
Where: Indiana University Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
TV/radio: FOX (Ch. 11)/790 AM
Records: UCLA 3-4 overall, 3-1 Big Ten; Indiana 7-0 overall, 4-0 Big Ten
Line: Indiana by 25.5
NOTABLE INJURIES
UCLA: OUT: DL Nico Davillier (personal reasons), DL Robert James III (undisclosed, season-ending), DL Tyler Partlow (undisclosed, season-ending), WR Jonah Smith (undisclosed, season-ending), QB Pierce Clarkson (indefinitely suspended) WR Karson Gordon (undisclosed), OL Jaylen Jeffers (undisclosed, season-ending), OL K.D. Arnold (undisclosed, season-ending); QUESTIONABLE: WR Jadyn Marshall (undisclosed), LB Ben Perry (undisclosed), DB Croix Stewart (undisclosed), RB Anthony Woods (undisclosed).
Indiana: OUT: DB Bryson Bonds (undisclosed, season-ending), RB Lee Beebe Jr. (undisclosed, season-ending), DL Kellan Wyatt (undisclosed).
What’s at stake? The world is on notice. Just a few weeks ago, folks could have joked about Indiana wiping the floor with UCLA by triple digits. Saturday is a different world. If the Bruins want to put a cap on or continue their incredible, at-times seemingly impossible run of a potential fourth win in a row and a .500 ranking, then they’ll need to take down the second-ranked Hoosiers. For Indiana, on the other hand, the top ranking in next week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll is at stake – continuing head coach Curt Cignetti’s dominating introduction to Big Ten football since his jump from James Madison to Bloomington, Indiana.
Who’s better? Indiana is a genuine world-beater. In the top five for total offense and total defense rankings entering Saturday’s contest, the Hoosiers are set up for success against any team in the nation. Talent-wise, on paper, UCLA may have the better recruits per se, but the coaching effort Cignetti has put into Indiana is one of the best in the history of college football. From just two wins a few years ago to the newfound close-to kings of college football, Indiana has turned from a basketball school to a football school. In the year 2025, more Americans could name the Hoosiers’ football coach than the head coach of the basketball program once led by Bobby Knight. (FYI: Darian DeVries coaches the men’s basketball team).
UCLA wins if: Bruins redshirt sophomore defensive back Cole Martin said it best: “Really, just being out there, being – going out to execute, that’s really the biggest thing for us, going out there, making sure we can execute, play in, play out,” he said. “Executing can help us tremendously.” Executing is not going to be easy, however. Indiana is exceptionally well coached and is more than a step above where UCLA is. That being said, the Bruins have overcome a 25-plus point spread before. UCLA is going to need to do its best under interim head coach Tim Skipper, more than ever before, and better than the Bruins have performed since he took charge of the program following the Bruins’ Week 3 loss to New Mexico.
Prediction: Indiana 35, UCLA 21. The dream will remain a reality early in this contest. UCLA is the hottest team in college football over the last few weeks – the greatest story in the sport with the coaching characters to back up the headlines. But at some point, the Bruins have to wake up and sense reality – sensing a feeling of defeat that UCLA has evaded since facing Northwestern. The score will remain close, but the Hoosiers will pull away in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated.