Written by: TJ Inman

Hoosier Huddle’s ‘At First Glance’ series continues as it looks at IU’s first road trip of the year as they travel to Pasadena to face the UCLA Bruins. It is one of several swing games of the 2024 season.

Week Three: UCLA Bruins

Date & Time: September 14, 2024 at 7:30 P.M. EST

Venue: The Rose Bowl

TV: NBC and Peacock

Bruins at a Glance

Head Coach: DeShaun Foster

Entering his first season as UCLA head coach

Record at UCLA: 0-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)

Overall Record: 0-0

Last Season: 8-5 (4-2 record at home)

Bruins Returning Leaders

Passing: Ethan Garbers – 98 for 146 (67.1%) for 1136 yards with 11 touchdowns

Rushing: T.J. Harden – 156 carries for 827 yards (5.30 yards per carry) with eight touchdowns

Receiving: Logan Loya – 59 receptions for 655 yards with five touchdowns

Tackles: Kain Medrano – 56 tackles with seven tackles for loss

Bruins Preseason Predictions

Athlon: 14th in the Big Ten

Lindy’s: 14th in the Big Ten

Phil Steele: 14th in the Big Ten

SP+: 37th Nationally

Impact Newcomers for the Bruins

Reuben Unije – Left Tackle – Grad transfer from Louisville
Rico Flores – Wide Receiver – Transfer from Notre Dame
Jacob Busic – Defensive End/Edge – Transfer from Navy
Kaylin Moore – Cornerback – Transfer from Cal
Bryan Addison – Safety – Transfer from Oregon

Biggest Questions Facing the Bruins

UCLA is beginning a new era as they move to the Big Ten: DeShaun Foster is a first-year head coach and Eric Bienemy is the new offensive coordinator. How do those two adjust to their new roles leading the program?
Can UCLA replicate the rushing success they had under Chip Kelly in 2023?
How do they replace the pass rush production they lost?
Can they fix the red zone offense after being second-worst in the country in 2023?

Program Preview

Chip Kelly had a combative relationship with many people in the UCLA administration (and seemingly with most everyone he interacted with the past couple of years) and after searching for an exit to the NFL, Kelly accepted the offensive coordinator position with the Ohio State Buckeyes. UCLA gauged the interest of different candidates before hiring former Bruins running back DeShaun Foster as their new head coach. Foster served as the running backs coach at UCLA for the last seven seasons prior to getting tabbed for the head coaching position. His resume is very similar to that of former IU coaching candidate Mike Hart, for better or for worse. Kelly exited after an 8-5 season and a victory over Boise State in their bowl game. With a new coach, comes a new conference. The UCLA Bruins are joining Washington, Oregon and USC in a migration to the Big Ten and the contest against the Indiana Hoosiers will be the first Big Ten game for UCLA and the home opener for DeShaun Foster as a head coach. UCLA has been a consistent bowl team but they have not had a ten-win season since 2014 and have never won 11 games in a campaign.

Offensive Preview

As is the case with every team evaluation and projection, it is difficult to know how much to weigh the results and trends of the 2023 season. That is particularly true when there is a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator to be factored into the evaluation. DeShaun Foster made a surprising and potentially risky hire at the offensive coordinator position: former NFL OC Eric Bienemy. He will be tasked with finding more balance and fixing a dreadful red zone attack. UCLA averaged 26.5 points per game in 2023 and checked in at 5.93 yards per play. UCLA’s biggest strength was the running game. The Bruins averaged 4.88 yards per carry while holding opponents to only 2.65 yards per rush. In total, they led the PAC-12 with 2,573 rushing yards while only giving up 1,050 yards. The offensive line returns a few starters and they are adding a decent left tackle from Louisville to round out that group. Running back is a strong group with T.J. Harden coming back and players like Keegan Jones and Isaiah Carlson rotating in. In short, the rushing game should be a strength again but it will still be hard to replicate just how much of a strength it was in 2023. On paper, UCLA has a lot of talent at wide receiver as they return Logan Loya and J. Michael Sturdivant. Loya is a strong possession receiver while Sturdivant is more of the big-play threat. Finding explosiveness in the passing game should be a point of emphasis given the red zone struggles and unlocking J. Michael Sturdivant’s potential should be a key for the 2024 offense. The Bruins added Notre Dame transfer Rico Flores for some additional depth but if either of the top two targets get injured, it gets dicey at that position.

Quarterback is an interesting position for the UCLA Bruins. They appeared to have the position figured out for the long-term when they secured five-star Dante Moore but Moore split-time with and was outperformed by Ethan Garbers before transferring to Oregon. Garbers is now the unquestioned QB1 after a solid season. He was not spectacular but he took care of the ball, throwing only three interceptions. Garbers has to be better at pushing the ball down the field and he’s not a great athlete that can beat you with his legs but he’s solid and likely won’t cost UCLA the game with a critical mistake. The lack of elite arm strength isn’t the only issue for UCLA’s passing game: the offensive line has to get better at pass protection. Opposing teams were able to tee off on the passer and both starting tackle positions have to get better as UCLA will face some top-notch defensive lines in 2024.

Defensive Preview

UCLA suffered a blow as rising star defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn left for the same position at USC. That was after producing a stellar unit in 2023 that dominated against the run and did a great job of rushing the passer. DeShaun Foster moved defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe to defensive coordinator but UCLA has a lot of production to replace. That includes losing the top five pass rushers from a season ago. In addition, UCLA lost leading tackler Darius Muasau and four of the five starters in the secondary are gone to either graduation or transfer. The one known commodity for UCLA on defense is in the interior of the defensive line as both starting tackles, Jay Toia and Gary Smith, return. Those two helped anchor a very good rushing defense and they serve as one answer on a unit full of questions. The Bruins are placing a lot of hope in lower-level transfers to try and cobble together a pass rush. Luke Schuermann was a first-team All-American in Division III, Jacob Busic excelled at Navy and Joseph Vaughn was at Yale. Those players could end up to be quite good but they will not match the production or presence of the Murphy brothers or first round pick Laiatu Latu.

Linebacker should be just fine despite the loss of Muasau. Femi Oladejo and Kain Medrano have experience and produced last season and they will likely start at the two linebacker spots plus there are plenty of talented young players waiting behind them. The secondary is another matter as UCLA has to replace their best two safeties and best corner. Bryan Addison joins from Oregon and Ramon Henderson comes over from Notre Dame but neither of them have been starters or even seen consistent snaps thus far in college. Without the benefit of an elite pass rush, the secondary could be exposed by good passing attacks.

Special Teams Preview

UCLA’s special teams were problematic in 2023. The Bruins were only 8 for 17 on field goals and given the red zone woes, they could really use some reliability in the kicking game. Mateen Bhaghani transferred in from Cal after 8 for 9 last season and making every extra point. They lost a solid punter and are hopeful newcomer Brody Richter can step-in adequately. Running back Keegan Jones is the most dangerous kick returner for the Bruins but he doesn’t really provide much of a threat to opponents.

2024 FIRST GLANCE PREVIEWS

Week One: FIU Golden Panthers

Week Two: Western Illinois Leathernecks

The Huddle

2024 At First Glance: Week Three UCLA Bruins