3 Instant Observations from Indiana Football's 56-6 Win vs UCLA

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Just under two hours before kickoff at noon Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Indiana football center Pat Coogan stretched at midfield. The temperature was below 50 degrees. Occasional rain drops fell. Wind softly blew.

Coogan wore a white Indiana cut-off shirt and a normal pair of black gym shorts. To his right, warming up on the south side of Merchants Bank Field, several UCLA players wore blue ski masks underneath hoodies or other long-sleeved attire.

Some Hoosiers eventually showed signs of being cold and sported ski masks of their own, but not Coogan, who squeezed water from a Dasani bottle to wet his face walking off the field after his first round of warmups.

The cooler conditions never fazed Coogan or any of his Indiana trench-mates, as the No. 2 Hoosiers (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) dominated the line of scrimmage en route to a 56-6 win over UCLA (3-5, 3-2 Big Ten) on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.

Here are three takeaways from Indiana's victory.

Indiana's disruptive defense overwhelmed UCLA

The Hoosiers' front-line dominance started from the first play of scrimmage, when redshirt junior defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker and sophomore linebacker Rolijah Hardy sacked UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava for a two-yard loss. The next play, senior linebacker Aiden Fisher intercepted Iamaleava and returned it for a 25-yard touchdown.

Indiana finished Saturday with three sacks, seven tackles for loss and two quarterback hits while allowing just 88 rushing yards on 25 attempts, an average of 3.5 yards per rush. The Bruins tallied 201 yards of total offense and mustered only 3.8 yards per play.

The Hoosiers generated three turnovers — Fisher's pick-six, a fumble forced by redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Jones and recovered by redshirt senior defensive tackle Hosea Wheeler and an interception from redshirt senior rover Devan Boykin — and stopped UCLA's fake punt near midfield in the first quarter.

Tucker collected 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while Jones made a team-high eight tackles and added a half-sack.

Hemby, Williams lead efficient offensive performance

After a performance against Michigan State that Indiana coach Curt Cignetti dubbed his "sharpest" with the Hoosiers, redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza started slow Saturday but eventually found his rhythm.

Mendoza, who completed only 6 of his first 13 attempts, finished 15-for-22 passing for 168 yards, three touchdowns and a first-quarter interception that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and deflected into the air before falling into the waiting hands of UCLA junior defensive back Scooter Jackson.

But Mendoza didn't headline Indiana's strong offensive day. A pair of redshirt seniors — running back Roman Hemby and receiver E.J. Williams Jr. — stole the show.

Hemby, who had only six rushes for 11 yards vs. Michigan State, returned to form with 17 carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA. He added one catch for 11 yards and had a 24-yard kickoff return to lead the Hoosiers with 116 all-purpose yards.

Williams caught five passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns, marking the first multi-touchdown performance of his 53-game career. It's also the first 100-yard receiving game in his college career.

Indiana totaled 475 yards of offense and averaged 6.3 yards per play while converting 12 of 16 third downs. The Hoosiers pulled Mendoza and replaced him with his younger brother, redshirt freshman Alberto Mendoza, with 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter while leading 49-6.

Fisher leaves with injury

Indiana played the final three quarters without Fisher, who stood on the sideline with a brace on his left knee. During an interview with FOX before entering the halftime locker, Cignetti lacked firm information on Fisher's status but didn't seem too concerned.

"We don't really know," Cignetti said. "He's walking around fine. It's more precautionary."

Fisher, the closest Indiana has to a team captain, spent the remainder of the game on the sideline, supporting his teammates.

Without Fisher, Indiana promoted Jones to the starting spot next to Hardy. Jones entered Saturday leading the Hoosiers with 11 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks while playing solely in Indiana's three-linebacker "trio" packages.

Indiana didn't go away from trio packages after Fisher's injury. Instead, redshirt junior linebacker Kaiden Turner saw playing time. Turner played 30 defensive snaps in the Hoosiers' first seven games, according to Pro Football Focus, and he's made four of his 23 career tackles in 2025.

The Hoosiers return to action at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, against Maryland (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) at SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland.