How UCLA Ready to try to topple his highest-ranked opponent in nearly two decades, one coach spoke of the challenges of beating an undefeated team, stopping its vaunted rushing attack, stopping its fast start.
The coach was Kurt Cignetti.
His team finds itself at No. 2 Indiana, a sudden juggernaut that the Bruins will try to defeat on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
“We're playing a 3-0 football team that's undefeated. They're 3-0 in conference because they've retooled their roster,” Cignetti told reporters. “Very impressive football team.”
The Bruins' turnaround after a rocky start is so remarkable that it's now being praised by the coach of one of the country's best teams.
A surging UCLA team (3-4 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) is only the third Big Ten team to lose its first four games and win its next three, joining 1963 Indiana and 2001 Penn State.
Of course, the Bruins hope that's where the parallels end, considering the Hoosiers lost their last two games and the Nittany Lions finished with a losing record.
Cignetti portrayed the 2025 Bruins as a team for the ages, noting that they have averaged 233 yards per game over the past three games while dominating possessions and outscoring opponents 58-17 in the first half over that same period.
UCLA heads into the nationally televised Big Noon showdown against Indiana (7-0, 4-0) having already defeated a top-10 team this season, although their victory with a score of 42-37 then-No. 7 Penn State lost a lot of its luster earlier this month in the Nittany Lions' ensuing free fall.
Luckily for the Bruins, interim coach Tim Skipper played for Pat Hill at Fresno State, which means he embraces the “Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere” mentality that made the Patchwork Bulldogs a national phenomenon because of their fearlessness.
UCLA wide receiver Quasi Gilmer catches a pass over Maryland defensive end Jamar Glasker during the Bruins' win on Oct. 18.
(Harry Howe/Getty Images)
“It’s always a part of me; Honestly, I was brainwashed that way,” Skipper said. “But, yeah, I mean, to me, once the whistle blows, it's just us versus you. I mean, it's time to go. Let's see who's had the best week of practice, let's see who's more prepared, let's see who wants it. That's how I see it. We're going to start, we've got to be ready to go for every inch, and see what happens.”
When asked to evaluate Indiana, Skipper praised a team that ranks among the best in the country in nearly every major statistical category.
“I’m still trying to identify weaknesses,” Skipper said. “It’s crazy how disciplined they are.”
UCLA beat a team as highly ranked as Indiana for the last time in a game that many Bruins fans will always remember – their 13-9 triumph over No. 2 USC in 2006 at the Rose Bowl.
Victory in recruiting
At a time of great uncertainty, when it would be easier for UCLA staff to worry more about their future than the prospects of upperclassmen who might never play for them, the Bruins continued to recruit players.
On Monday, they received another verbal commitment from Travis Robertson, a forward from West Bloomfield, Michigan, who previously committed to Bowling Green.
“They showed me that no matter what situation they're in,” Robertson told The Times, “they will always get the job done with the coaching staff and the players. And I'm rooting for that staff 100 percent.”
UCLA staff also continue to pursue recruits who have reneged on their verbal commitments, including Cooper Jaworski, an offensive lineman from San Juan Hills High who spent time visiting with offensive line coach Andy Kwon before the Bruins' game against Maryland last weekend.
“We work hard here, we don’t let anything go to waste and we don’t put effort in one area or another,” Skipper said of his staff’s recruiting efforts. “Everything we do happens at full speed.”
UCLA's 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked 78th nationally. 247Sports.comwith 12 players.
Injury Updates
The skipper said he will wait to further evaluate quarterback Niko Yamaleava and running backs Anthony Woods and Jayvian Thomas before providing injury updates.
Yamaleava returned from an apparent right knee injury late in the game against Maryland to lead the Bruins in their winning drive. Woods and Thomas were ejected from the game after “both guys were kind of thrown off,” Skipper said.
