Can UCLA make a run for it in Big Ten debut? Five things to watch against Indiana

If a college football team nearly combusts halfway across the Pacific Ocean, does it make a ruckus back on campus?

Depends on how many fans turned on their televisions.

After stumbling over itself for much of its season opener in Hawaii, UCLA gets a do-over of sorts in its home opener Saturday at the Rose Bowl. This time, everyone will be watching.

Significant improvement is a must to beat Indiana. The running game, blocking and game management all came under fire during that clunker of a 16-13 victory two weeks ago, leaving the Bruins seeking a better showing in DeShaun Foster’s head coaching debut at a stadium he knows well.

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“We won the game, that’s the big thing — you know, celebrate all wins,” UCLA tight end Moliki Matavao said, “but we came back, watched the film and there was stuff we could correct and throughout the bye week and starting this week, we’re correcting all the little things.”

The Bruins (1-0) will need those fixes to take hold against the Hoosiers (2-0) to win their first Big Ten game and soothe antsy fans. Here are five things to watch:

Hawaii’s Pofele Ashlock hurdles UCLA’s Carson Schwesinger during the second half of the Bruins’ win at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on Aug. 31 in Honolulu.

(Darryl Oumi / Getty Images)

UCLA’s defense held the Rainbow Warriors to three points and 100 yards in the second half to spark a comeback, but what does it mean?

Answers could be forthcoming against an Indiana offense that has rolled up 108 points in two games, including a 77-3 shellacking of Western Illinois in which it set school records for points and total yards (701).

“I mean, any time you score 77 points,” Bruins linebacker Carson Schwesinger said, “it’s a dynamic offense.”

The Hoosiers are experienced at key positions, featuring a sixth-year quarterback in Kurtis Rourke and a seventh-year running back in Ty Son Lawton. They’re also incredibly balanced, averaging 278.5 yards rushing per game and 279 yards passing.

The Bruins seem to think that the solution to stopping the latter is stopping the former.

“If they’re getting four, five or six yards per carry,” UCLA edge rusher Jacob Busic said, “we’re not going to be able to rush the passer, they’re going to just keep running it all day.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti watches his team play against Florida International on Aug. 31.

(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

New Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has succeeded everywhere he’s been, and he doesn’t believe that’s about to change.

“I win,” he said after parlaying a combined 119-35 record at IUP, Elon and James Madison into his latest job. “Google me.”

Bravado seems to have its own chapter in Cignetti’s playbook. Asked this summer about making Indiana’s first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1968, Cignetti said, “We’re just going to an old stadium to kick somebody’s ass. When I say that, that’s not directed toward UCLA; that’s the objective every week.”

Earlier this week, Cignetti said the Bruins had “a lot of really good athletes, a lot of pretty guys.” It’s up to the Bruins to show whether they can get nasty while looking good.

UCLA’s T.J. Harden carries the ball and runs through the Hawaii defense on Aug. 31 in Honolulu.

(Darryl Oumi / Getty Images)

UCLA’s run game was horrid in the opener, gaining 24 yards in 13 carries if you take away quarterback Ethan Garbers’ scrambles.

Improvement could come not just from more decisive running from T.J. Harden and Keegan Jones, but also the debut of Michigan State transfer running back Jalen Berger. Foster said Berger could play if he had adequately learned the offense and rounded into form from an injury that ended his 2023 season prematurely.

The Bruins are also expected to get back offensive tackles Garrett DiGiorgio and Reuben Unije after DiGiorgio sat out the opener with an injury and Unije departed in the third quarter.

UCLA coach DeShaun Foster watches from the sideline during the Bruins’ narrow win over Hawaii at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on Aug. 31 in Honolulu.

(Darryl Oumi / Getty Images)

Foster’s first attempt at game management drew criticism, particularly when he failed to call timeout when the Bruins had only nine players on the field on a Hawaii punt play that turned into a first down.

There were also some cautious decisions to punt on fourth down while in good field position and a curious choice to accept a penalty against Hawaii on third down rather than force a fourth down.

Foster said the biggest thing he learned was the need to stay upbeat even when things look bleak.

“The first half didn’t go exactly how we wanted it to go,” Foster said, “but that was good that we were able to bounce back, and that happening in the first game can prepare me to keep a positive attitude and keep the guys motivated.”

UCLA coach DeShaun Foster hopes fans pack the Rose Bowl standing student section and make life difficult for visiting Indiana Saturday.

(Meg Oliphant/Los Angeles Times)

UCLA students will get their chance to let the Hoosiers hear it.

In the only arrangement of its kind in the Big Ten, more than 1,000 students will be stationed directly behind the opposing team’s bench at the Rose Bowl in a standing-room-only configuration.

Foster said he wanted to supply the students with paddles they could bang against a padded wall a la counterparts at Oklahoma State.

“I just hope that our student section is fired up,” Foster said. “Just make as much noise as you can and just be that 12th man for us.”

The big question is how many students will show up; the fall quarter doesn’t start until later this month.