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    IU football game day: UCLA at Indiana primer and prediction

    Mike SchumannBy IU Football 1 Comment
    Photo by Seth Tow for TDH

    IU football is back on the national stage.

    With FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff shining a pregame spotlight on the program, the Hoosiers face the suddenly resurgent UCLA Bruins.

    Here’s everything you need to know about Indiana’s week nine matchup against UCLA in Bloomington.

    UCLA (3-4, 3-1) at No. 2 INDIANA (7-0, 4-0)

    • Kickoff:  Noon ET, Saturday
    • Location:  Bloomington, Ind.; Memorial Stadium (56,626; field turf)
    • Television:  FOX — Gus Johnson (pbp), Joel Klatt (color), Jenny Taft (sideline)
    • Stream:  Fox Sports
    • Radio:  IU Football radio network
    • Odds:  Indiana is around a 26.5-point favorite
    • Weather at kickoff:  50 degrees, cloudy, wind 4 mph, 0% chance of precipitation.
    • Series:  IU leads the series 1-0.
    • Tickets:  Use our StubHub affiliate link
    • The Coaches:
      • Curt Cignetti is in his second year as the head coach at IU.  He holds a 137-37 record in his 15th season as a college head coach.  He’s 18-2 at Indiana.
      • Tim Skipper is the interim head coach of the Bruins.  He’s 3-1 this year and 9-8 overall as a head coach.

    GAMEDAY TIMELINE

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    TALE OF THE TAPE 

    THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK NINE SLATE

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    UCLA RESULTS

    Date Time At Opponent Location Result
    Aug 30 (Sat) 8:00 PM (PT) Home Utah Pasadena, CA (The Rose Bowl) L 10-43
    Sep 6 (Sat) 5:00 PM (PT) Away UNLV Las Vegas, NV (Allegiant Stadium) L 23-30
    Sep 12 (Fri) 7:00 PM (PT) Home New Mexico Pasadena, CA (The Rose Bowl) L 10-35
    Sep 27 (Sat) 12:30 PM (PT) Away Northwestern Evanston, IL (Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium) L 14-17
    Oct 4 (Sat) 12:30 PM (PT) Home Penn State Pasadena, CA (The Rose Bowl) W 42-37
    Oct 11 (Sat) 9:00 AM (PT) Away Michigan State East Lansing, MI (Spartan Stadium) W 38-13
    Oct 18 (Sat) 4:00 PM (PT) Home Maryland Pasadena, CA (The Rose Bowl) W 20-17

    UCLA NOTES AND NUMBERS

    (Via UCLA Athletics)

    COACHING CHANGE
    Tim Skipper will serve as UCLA’s interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 season after DeShaun Foster was relieved of his head coaching duties on Sept. 14, 2025. Skipper previously served as the special assistant to the head coach under Foster earlier this season.

    Last season, Skipper became Fresno State’s interim head coach in July of 2024 and guided the Bulldogs to a 6-7 record and a bowl appearance. Skipper was also the acting head coach for Fresno State at the 2023 New Mexico Bowl, which the Bulldogs won over New Mexico State, 37-10. Skipper’s previous coaching experience includes stints as defensive coordinator, most recently at UNLV from 2018-19, and assistant head coach responsibilities at Colorado State, Central Michigan and Fresno State. He also coached running backs at Florida from 2015-16 and linebackers from 2017-18.

    KEY NOTES ON UCLA
    • According to Big Ten Network Research, UCLA is just the third Big Ten team all-time to lose its first four games and then win its next three, joining 1963 Indiana and 2001 Penn State. The only power conference teams to do so in the BCS/CFP era are 2001 Penn State, 2021 Florida State, and 2025 UCLA.

    • UCLA has won three straight games against No. 7 Penn State (Oct. 4), Michigan State (Oct. 11) and Maryland (Oct. 18) under interim head coach Tim Skipper. Across those three games, UCLA has scored 100 points with 12 touchdowns and averaged 422.3 yards of total offense (233.3 rushing, 189.0 passing).

    • UCLA’s defense has seen a significant uptick in production over its past four games since Skipper and senior defensive analyst Kevin Coyle (play-caller) took over responsibilities. The Bruins are allowing an average of 115 fewer yards on defense (315.3 yards per game) over their past four games. UCLA has also tripled its tackle-for-loss per game output; UCLA recorded 5.0 TFLs in games 1-3 and 20.0 TFLs in games 4-7. Additionally, the Bruins have recorded four turnovers with an interception and three fumble recoveries over this four-game stretch.

    • UCLA, led by an interim head coach and new offensive and defensive play-callers, defeated No. 7 Penn State, 42-37, at the Rose Bowl for its first win over an AP top-10 opponent since Sept. 24, 2010.

    • The Bruins lead the Big Ten Conference and rank 12th in the FBS in redzone efficiency with 22 scores on 23 trips for a .957 success rate (9 passing TDs, 5 rushing TDs and 8 FGs). UCLA failed to score on its first redzone trip of the season at Michigan State (missed FG).

    • Quarterback Nico Iamaleava has averaged 193.6 passing yards per game on 135-of-207 passing (65.2%), including 10 touchdowns, over the first seven starts of his UCLA career. He also leads the team in rushing touchdowns (4) and rushing yards (360) through seven games. Iamaleava recorded the longest of his career in the third quarter versus Penn State with a 52-yard carry.

    • Iamaleava accounted for all of UCLA’s five touchdowns (three rushing, two passing) and recorded 296 yards of total offense (166 passing, 128 rushing) in its 42-37 upset victory over Penn State. Iamaleava’s three rushing touchdowns tied a UCLA QB single-game record; the last time a Bruins quarterback ran for three touchdowns was Rick Bashore against Washington State on Oct. 14, 1978. Former All-American QBs Gary Beban and John Sciarra (twice) also accomplished the feat.

    • Running back Anthony Frias II recorded a career-high 97 rushing yards on four carries (24.3 yards per carry), including his first career touchdown, in UCLA’s 20-17 win over Maryland. Frias’ score came on a 55-yard rush in the second quarter, which was good for UCLA’s longest scoring play of the season. The Turlock, Calif. native also recorded a 35-yard rush during the Bruins’ final drive of the game to put UCLA at the Maryland 5-yard line and set up the game-winning field goal.

    • Wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala logged the first 100-yard receiving game of his career versus Maryland with 102 yards on six catches. Mokiao-Atimalala leads UCLA with three touchdowns this season, with two of those scores coming in UCLA’s past three games against No. 7 Penn State and Michigan State.

    • Wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer has recorded a catch in 17 straight games. Gilmer leads the Bruins’ receiving corps with 369 yards and 30 catches (12.3 yards per catch). Gilmer scored UCLA’s first points against Penn State on an 11-yard pass on the first drive of the game. Gilmer also made the second-longest reception of his career against the Nittany Lions with a 43-yard play in the second quarter to set up a UCLA score.

    • Running back Jalen Berger recorded a career-high-tying three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) and 89 rushing yards on 12 carries in his return to Michigan State. In doing so, Berger became the first UCLA running back with multiple receiving TDs since Demetric Felton did so against USC in 2020. Berger also became the first UCLA non-QB with three total TDs since Carson Steele versus USC in 2023.

    MORE COVERAGE

    PREDICTIONS

    UCLA is clearly an improved team since the coaching change.  But they aren’t beat No. 2 on the road at 9 a.m. their time good.

    Iamaleava will have his moments, but Indiana proves it has no weaknesses.

    The undefeated season rolls on.

    TDH PREDICTION:  INDIANA 38 UCLA 17

    • ESPN SP+ (Computer):  Indiana 40 UCLA 13 (96% win probability for IU)
    • ESPN FPI (Computer):  Indiana has a 96.3% chance to win.

    For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.

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