No. 2 Indiana football is set to welcome the turnaround story of the 2025 college football season when the Hoosiers take on the UCLA Bruins on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.
They’re
not quite the 2024 Hoosiers in terms of turnaround. UCLA’s move came midseason when the athletic department moved on from now-former head coach DeShaun Foster after an 0-3 start. In stepped interim Tim Skipper and, a week later, offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel.
The Bruins are 3-1 under Skipper and 3-0 with Neuheisel calling the plays. Here’s three things to know ahead of the game.
The Turnaround
It’s detailed above, but you really can’t emphasize enough that the UCLA team that’ll visit Bloomington just isn’t the same as the one that opened the season 0-4. For one, Skipper is in charge on the sideline now and has very clearly been pushing the right buttons on gamedays and in between to save what looked like a lost season.
Then there’s Neuheisel, who we’ll detail below, who has obviously gotten plenty of attention as a former Bruins quarterback leading the offense. That change meant parting ways with former Indiana quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri, but the offense has just been better under Neuheisel’s watch.
A Jerry-rigged Offense
UCLA scored 10, 23, 10 and 14 points in its season-opening four consecutive losses to Utah, UNLV, New Mexico and Northwestern before parting ways with Sunseri following the loss to the Wildcats. Under Neuheisel, the offense has scored 42, 38 and 20 points.
Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the Bruins’ prized transfer portal addition this past offseason, has passed for 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, with a turnover through the air in each of UCLA’s first three matchups. He took care of the ball for three consecutive games, two with Neuheisel calling plays, before throwing two picks against Maryland this past Saturday.
He’s been completing more of his passes and, for the most part, has been better about turnovers during the Bruins’ winning streak. He was especially effective on the ground for UCLA against Penn State, with 128 rushing yards and three (!) touchdowns on 12 attempts. He hasn’t been as effective on the ground since.
Iamaleava hit the turf hard on his knee in the game against the Terrapins and was helped off the field. He was ultimately able to return and lead a game-winning drive. He was a participant in UCLA’s practices this week and looks to start against the Hoosiers on Saturday.
Indiana has had trouble with running quarterbacks this season, allowing two long runs to Old Dominion and a long second half rush from Aidan Chiles against Michigan State. Given aforementioned knee injury, Iamaleava might be less effective on the ground and may look to hurt the Hoosiers more from the pocket.
The Bruin Defense
Since Skipper’s promotion to interim head coach, UCLA has allowed 17, 37, 13 and 17 points.
Penn State is by some distance the most talented team of that group and scored off of a blocked punt as well, inflating their score a tad. Additionally, Maryland added a touchdown off of a returned interception by Iamaleava.
Teams are having trouble scoring on the Bruins now after the defense previously allowed 43, 30 and 35 points under Foster. Skipper has a defensive background, having played linebacker at Fresno State and coaching positions on that side of the ball throughout his career. He wasn’t a position coach with the Bruins prior to his promotion, working as a special assistant to the head coach instead.
UCLA parted ways with former defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe in addition to Sunseri, a move that’s gotten considerably less attention. That unit has improved under Kevin Coyle, who brings a wealth of experience on that side of the ball, having been in coaching at some level since 1978.
Coyle was previously a senior defensive analyst for the Bruins prior to being elevated to interim defensive coordinator. He was hired mid-season from a similar analyst role with Syracuse.
Whatever Coyle has done, which probably amounts to adjustments to the existing system, it’s worked. Indiana will have to rely on some limited tape to scout his version of this Bruins defense.
