UCLA at Indiana
Saturday, Oct. 25
12:10 p.m. Eastern, 9:10 a.m. Pacific
Fox
The battle between the UCLA Bruins and Indiana Hoosiers is hard to easily grasp. On one hand, it looks like a total blowout. On the other hand, the team which is an underdog of more than 24 points is on a three-game winning streak and has become a noticeable national story. How does that happen, and how often will college football fans see this one-of-a-kind collection of storylines?
UCLA has won three in a row, beating Penn State and helping James Franklin find the unemployment line (and a buyout of nearly $50 million to not coach). Yet, the Bruins are massive underdogs because they still have a losing record this season and are going up against the No. 2 team in the country. Indiana has become a national powerhouse under Curt Cignetti. The Hoosier coach has taken a very good 2024 season and raised the bar in 2025. It’s a fascinating Big Ten football game for a lot of reasons, and we’ll get into the main one below:
UCLA-Indiana is a unique Big Ten matchup
Both coaching staffs have turned their teams around quickly, but on different scales
This game involves teams at the opposite end of the college football spectrum in terms of success and national stature, but both coaching staffs share one thing in common: They took charge of their teams and delivered instant success, albeit on different scales.
Cignetti took a nowhere program and lifted it to the College Football Playoff in one season. He now has IU on course to return to the playoff and maybe get a first-round bye. That’s heavyweight stuff. UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper hasn’t done nearly as much as Cignetti — who else has? — but he can say he has dramatically changed UCLA in a short time. Skipper took over one month ago and has radically remade the Bruins. He lost his first game (to Northwestern) but was able to use that one game to truly overhaul the way the team operated and transform the internal culture. That one game against Northwestern was apparently all Skipper needed to change UCLA’s trajectory.
Armed with two new coordinators as part of an extensive housecleaning, Skipper — with Jerry Neuheisel (offense) and Kevin Coyle (defense) — has found a way to make UCLA tough, smart, detail-oriented, accountable, resilient, and resourceful, all the things this team wasn’t under DeShaun Foster.
UCLA was getting crushed at home by New Mexico under Foster. After the coaching change, the Bruins beat Penn State, beat up Michigan State, and handled Maryland. Notably, UCLA and Indiana both beat Michigan State by the exact same score: 38-13. It’s remarkable that UCLA went from an 0-4 doormat to a decent 3-4 Big Ten team which is in the conference race in late October. No one expects UCLA to win here, but if the Bruins pull it off, they will be in the picture for the Big Ten Championship Game. Merely having that chance is, by itself, incredible. Tim Skipper, not just Curt Cignetti, can turn around a team.
UCLA Bruins-Indiana Hoosiers Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the 3Dog Thursday Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: UCLA +24.5 (-105), Indiana -24.5 (-115)
Total: 53.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Underdog moneyline: UCLA +1500
Indiana is a lot better than UCLA, but 25 points better? Indiana was favored by 26.5 at home against a Michigan State team which lost to UCLA by 25. Indiana did not cover. The lean here is to UCLA, but you should probably wait to see what happens in the first 5-10 minutes before making a fully confident wager. This is a game Indiana could win by 45, or 17. Neither outcome would be hugely surprising. Get a read on the game flow first. We advise making a live bet and not a pregame bet.