Big Ten kicks off nationwide era when UCLA hosts Indiana at the Rose Bowl
Indiana (2-0) at UCLA (1-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Indiana by 3.
Series record: First meeting.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
The Big Ten kicks off a new era as a nationwide 18-team conference when the Bruins welcome the Hoosiers. UCLA had a week off after a 16-13 escape at Hawaii on Aug. 31 and will be looking to show significant improvement from coach DeShaun Foster’s debut. Indiana hits the road for the first time after taking care of business through two games under new coach Curt Cignetti, pummeling Western Illinois 77-3 on Friday. The Hoosiers have only produced eight 3-0 starts over the last 30 seasons and only won their Big Ten opener five times since 1994.
KEY MATCHUP
UCLA QB Ethan Garbers vs. Indiana’s secondary. Garbers, a fifth-year senior, was flat out bad in the first half in Honolulu and improved just enough for the Bruins to eke out the win. He was 19-of-38 passing for 272 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Hoosiers haven’t been tested by anything resembling a quality passing game yet, so how they handle the step up in difficulty is a big unknown. Safety DJ Warnell Jr., who started his college career at UCLA before going to Arizona, has one of Indiana’s three interceptions this season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Indiana: DE Mikail Kamara has three sacks in two games. The fifth-year junior, one of 13 transfers who followed Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana, has a tackle for loss in 23 of 25 career games and will try to add to his total against a Bruins offensive line that gave up six negative plays to Hawaii.
UCLA: S Ramon Henderson did it all in his Bruins debut, making three tackles, one sack and one interception against the Rainbow Warriors. The fifth-year senior made five starts at Notre Dame before transferring in search of more playing time.
FACTS & FIGURES
Indiana is making its first visit to the Rose Bowl since Jan. 1, 1968, when the Hoosiers lost to national champions Southern California. … The Hoosiers scored a team-record 77 points against Western Illinois. The previous mark came in a 76-0 win over Franklin College in 1901. They also topped 700 total yards for the first time in school history … The Bruins gave up 1.8 yards per carry to Hawaii, including yardage lost on the five sacks the defense came up with. It was the seventh time in their last 14 games allowing under 2 yards per attempt.
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