UCLA 2025 Football Opponent Primer: Indiana

The UCLA Bruins are entering their second season in the Big Ten Conference with the hopes of erasing last season's 5-7 record from memory by improving in every facet.

In DeShaun Foster's first full offseason at the helm in Westwood, the Bruins did just that -- improved and restructured nearly every facet of the program from the field to the coaching staff.

With that being said, let's take start taking a look at UCLA's 2025 season opponents and how ESPN's Bill Connelly previews them ahead of the season, starting with the Bruins' week nine clash with Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers

According to ESPN's football power index (FPI), Indiana is expected to be a formidable team in the Big Ten this season, winning a projected 8.1 wins (5.2 in the Big Ten), being the 23rd-ranked team in college football.

Here's what Connelly had to say about the Hoosiers ahead of the season:

"In his first season in charge in Bloomington, Cignetti brought in a huge batch of transfers (including many from James Madison, his previous employer) and immediately had a CFP team on his hands. Including JMU's virtually perfect jump from FCS to FBS, basically everything Cignetti has touched in the 2020s has turned to gold.

"But the problem with leaning on a huge batch of transfers for immediate success, is that you will probably have to do it again the following year. Among last season's standouts, a few return: receiver Elijah Sarratt, three offensive line starters and high-quality defenders in end Mikail Kamara, linebacker Aiden Fisher and corner D'Angelo Ponds. But only eight starters are back, if the Hoosiers make another run at double-digit wins, it will again be because of the portal.

"At quarterback, Cignetti did well in adding Cal's Fernando Mendoza. Over 20 appearances in two seasons, Mendoza has thrown for 4,712 yards and 30 TDs; he's more efficient than explosive, but he torches zone coverage, and if opponents move to man defense, he's a good scramble threat. New running backs Lee Beebe Jr. (UAB) and Roman Hemby (Maryland) will join returnee Kaelon Black in the backfield, and among five portal additions in the receiving corps, I particularly like Makai Jackson (Appalachian State). Center Pat Coogan (Notre Dame) is the most important addition up front. This offense will be different than last season's, but I like what coordinator Mike Shanahan has to work with.

"Thanks to a combination of aggressive run defense and big-play prevention against the pass, Indiana had just about the best combination of defensive efficiency and explosiveness you could hope for in 2024.

"Yes, the Hoosiers' schedule was lighter than some others, but even against the best offenses on the schedule, they held Ohio State to its third-worst yards-per-play average of the season and its worst yards-per-successful-play average. Notre Dame got a 98-yard touchdown run from Jeremiyah Love in the CFP but otherwise averaged a paltry 4.5 yards per play. This was a good defense, and I bet it will be again. Cignetti brought in four FBS linemen who combined for 24 TFLs last season (my favorite: Western Kentucky tackle Hosea Wheeler), plus four DBs to pair with Ponds & Co.

"You can't sneak up on everybody twice, and trips to Penn State, Oregon and Iowa await (along with a huge visit from Illinois). I doubt this is a playoff team again in 2025, but it seems doable that Cignetti turns IU into a stable, top-25 program. A year ago, that would have been unthinkable."

Depending on how good the Bruins are heading into this matchup, Indiana will be favored, but the Hoosiers are a team to look out for on UCLA's schedule as a team that can potentially be upset.

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