IU Will Raise the Victory Flag Against UCLA If...

Written by Sammy Jacobs

After every win the Indiana Hoosiers raise the Victory Flag high over Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers head west on Saturday to open up Big Ten play at UCLA. The Hoosiers will move to 3-0 and raise the Victory Flag if they can accomplish these things.

1. Win the Line of Scrimmage

Most college football games are won and lost on the line of scrimmage. The Hoosiers have been good up front on both sides of the ball in their first two contests, but this game represents a major step up in competition. The Bruins defensive line is the strength of that unit and IU has shown some shakiness in pass protection.

On the other side of the ball the UCLA line did not dominate Hawaii in the way you’d think a Big Ten team should. The Bruins only rushed for 71 yards and 47 of those came from the quarterback. IU’s defensive line has more depth than UCLA’s offensive line and should have the matchup advantage. If Makial Kamara and Lanell Carr can come off the edge like they did in the first two games, IU’s defense should win the day.

2. Use the Coaching Advantage

The Hoosiers have the clear coaching staff advantage on Saturday and that will play a role if this is a close game. Curt CIgnetti has the experience edge over DeShaun Foster. If IU doesn’t play well, it may not make a difference, but IU should be able to take advantage of this in both the game planning and in-game parts of the contest.

3. Make UCLA’s Offense On Dimensional

Hawaii did a fantastic of this in a narrow 16-13 loss in week one. They made UCLA rely on their passing game to beat them. UCLA was held to 71 rushing yards on 20 attempts. Now, the passing game is the Bruins’ strength on offense and they have some dangerous weapons in quarterback Ethan Garbers and wideout Rico Flores. The Hoosiers need to follow the blueprint that Hawaii put out.

4. Do the Things Road Favorites Do to Win

The Hoosiers are a three-point road favorite and are being looked at as a lock for a lot of national analysts this week. IU needs to play like that to win on the road. This means IU needs to continue to take care of the football and not commit the major penalties that have cost them in close road games in the past. They need to control the pace of the game and put UCLA on their heels early.

5. It’s Just One Game

While there is plenty of hype surrounding the trip out to UCLA and playing in the Rose Bowl, it is still just one of 12 games. In the past IU has put so much pressure on one game that they play tight and scared. They cannot do that this week. A win would be huge, but as Curt Cignetti said earlier this week, it is just one game.