No. 2 Hoosiers Dominate Bruins 56-6, Improve to 8-0

Written by: TJ Inman

The UCLA Bruins entered this afternoon’s matchup with the #2 Indiana Hoosiers as one of the hotter teams in the Big Ten, riding a three-game winning streak since changing the coaching staff. Much was made about the Bruins having fun on the field again but there was not much fun to be had for the visitors as the Indiana Hoosiers hammered UCLA 56-6 and improved to 8-0 on the season. The victory was lopsided from the opening moments as IU outgained UCLA by 275 yards and allowed the Bruins to go only 2-14 on third and fourth down.

UCLA began with the ball and Tyrique Tucker sent a message on the very first play as he broke through and sacked Nico Iamaleava on first down. The UCLA quarterback was under pressure again on second down and his pass was intercepted by Aiden Fisher. The All-American linebacker galloped into the end zone to give IU a 7-0 lead. The Bruins had to punt on their second drive and the Hoosiers were driving before a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage was intercepted by Scooter Jackson. UCLA could not capitalize on the good field position and a fake punt was well-defended by IU’s special teams unit and the Hoosiers took the ball over at the 41-yard line. Kaelon Black broke free for a 20-yard run and E.J. Williams set the Hoosiers up inside the ten-yard line before Roman Hemby scored on fourth and goal to make the score 14-0. UCLA had to punt again and the Hoosiers began the second quarter by driving the ball again and with the help of two pass interference penalties, Indiana got into scoring position again.

Fernando Mendoza zipped a pass to Elijah Sarratt for a short touchdown to give IU a commanding 21-0 lead. Isiah Jones forced a fumble and Hosea Wheeler recovered at the UCLA 29-yard line and the Hoosiers wasted no time converting. E.J. Williams caught a pass for a first down and Roman Hemby scored his second touchdown of the day to make it 28-0. The teams traded punts before UCLA drove into scoring position and got on the board with a 44-yard field goal with only 1:55 remaining in the first half. Indiana’s offense drove 75 yards and finished the drive with a gorgeous touchdown pass from Fernando Mendoza to E.J. Williams to finish the half at 35-3. IU outgained UCLA 224-95 in the first 30 minutes and did not allow a single third or fourth-down conversion.

Indiana began the second half with the ball and Fernando Mendoza showed his wheels on a touchdown run around the right side of the line to give the Hoosiers a 42-3 lead as another route was on in Bloomington. UCLA was forced to punt again and Mendoza connected with E.J. Williams for another touchdown to make it 49-3. UCLA added a field goal after a few nice plays from Nico Iamaleava and the Hoosiers turned to backup quarterback Alberto Mendoza to carry the remainder of the contest.  The younger brother completed a nice pass to Charlie Becker and then had a 26-yard scamper followed by a touchdown run from a few yards out on a read option play. Devan Boykin intercepted Nico Iamaleava’s second-down pass to set IU up with a short field but Alberto Mendoza’s pass to the end zone was intercepted by the Bruins.

UCLA kept Nico Iamaleava in the game and was still throwing until the end and their final drive wound out most of the clock before they turned it over on downs. Alberto Mendoza took a knee to end the game. The 56-6 victory kept Curt Cignetti unbeaten at home as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. Heisman Trophy contender Fernando Mendoza was 15-22 for 168 yards with three touchdowns and one interception plus 45 rushing yards and an additional score. E.J. Williams led the Hoosiers with 109 yards receiving and two touchdowns. The Hoosiers outgained UCLA 476-201 and now roll on to a road game at Maryland.

Hoosier Huddle will have ongoing coverage of IU’s dominant victory over UCLA.