Everything was familiar in the Pac-12.

Whether it was a rival coach, players or a playbook, each conference matchup carried a rich, entrenched history.

In its first Big Ten contest, UCLA football (1-0) will take on Indiana (2-0) on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl, the first matchup against the Hoosiers in the Bruins’ 105-year history. Both teams will feature new head honchos with a chance to make a statement in their first matchup against a Power-4 opponent.

Following a narrow victory in Honolulu, the bye week was critical to give the Bruins time to polish themselves and prepare for their home opener.

“The bye week’s definitely important,” said redshirt junior linebacker Carson Schwesinger. “You just want to be as healthy as you can. Then just cleaning up things and getting better at communication, assignments, technique, things like that.”

Indiana, meanwhile, is fresh off of two dominant victories against Western Illinois and Florida International, where the Hoosiers outscored their two adversaries by a combined 98 points.

Newly minted Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti ushered in 13 transfers from his 11-2 James Madison squad to supplement Indiana’s roster after it went 3-9 last season.

One of Cignetti’s new recruits is veteran transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke. The 2022 Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year boasts five seasons of starting experience at Ohio and amassed 448 passing yards with four total touchdowns and zero turnovers through his first two games as a Hoosier.

“Just a good quarterback,” said coach DeShaun Foster “Can throw RPOs (Run-Pass Options) really well, does a good job at leading his team, you can tell he’s a mature quarterback.”

After stifling Hawai’i’s run-and-shoot passing offense in its Aug. 31 matchup, UCLA’s defense will have an opportunity to replicate its success against Rourke and Indiana’s more balanced approach.

“They’re going to want to run the ball on us, they’re a physical football team,” said redshirt junior defensive lineman Jacob Busic. “It just comes down to us stopping the run, earning the right to rush the passer.”

It’ll likely be an effort to replace their second half against the Rainbow Warriors, where the Bruins managed all of their 16 points after being shut out in the first half. That charge was led by redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers, who recovered from a rough two-interception first half to finish with 272 passing yards and a touchdown.

However, one aspect that evaded the Bruins throughout the contest was their running game, as the offense rushed for only 71 yards after averaging nearly 200 yards per game last season.

“We won the game, that’s the big thing,” said senior tight end Moliki Matavao. “Came back, watched the film – there’s stuff we needed to correct throughout the bye week, all the little things.”

With the return of starting offensive tackles redshirt junior Garrett DiGiorgio and redshirt senior Reuben Unije, junior running back T.J. Harden will have the chance to find the success he had last season when he averaged 5.3 yards per rush.

UCLA’s backfield will be pit against an Indiana defense that has allowed a measly 10 points this season, albeit its games were against an FCS school and a below-average Conference USA program.

However, in the Bruins’ first game in the Rose Bowl, Foster said he wants his players to live in the moment.

“You don’t get a lot of these opportunities,” Foster said. “I was fortunate enough to play a lot of games in the Rose Bowl but I still wish I had more.”