This post was updated Nov. 7 at 11:40 p.m.

UCLA football (3-5, 2-4 Big Ten) is returning to the Rose Bowl to take on Iowa (6-3, 4-2) for a conference matchup in its annual homecoming game. The Bruins could capture their first win at home this year, while both teams have an opportunity to reach three-game winning streaks. Here is this week’s scouting report from assistant Sports editor Kai Dizon, who will be simultaneously watching UCLA men’s basketball’s game against New Mexico like a chameleon.

Iowa’s Offense:
Offensive scheme: Multiple
Run-pass percentage: 62.5% run, 37.5% pass
Strength: Run game
Weakness: Pass game
X-factor: RB Kaleb Johnson

The Hawkeyes and Bruins are like inverted reflections of each other.

Kirk Ferentz: the longest-tenured active head coach in college football. DeShaun Foster: a rookie head honcho.

The Hawkeyes: four spots from the top of the Big Ten standings. The Bruins: four from the bottom.

The Hawkeyes’ run game: 10th in the nation by yards per game. The Bruins’: dead last.

And Iowa’s last note all starts with running back Kaleb Johnson.

Johnson, who has accumulated 1,279 rushing yards this season, sits only behind Heisman candidate Ashton Jeanty for the national lead.

Amid a breakout junior campaign, Johnson has already eclipsed his combined freshman and sophomore rushing yards by 37, entering his name into the 2025 NFL Draft conversation. The Hamilton, Ohio, local has run for triple-digit yardage in all but two of the Hawkeyes’ games this season.

While the Bruins’ rushing defense – ranked 11th in the nation by yards allowed per game – has been one of the team’s strong suits thus far, it’ll surely have its hands full come Friday.

Iowa’s passing game is far less menacing, though.

Nine games into the season, the Hawkeyes only have one threat with more than 200 receiving yards: tight end Luke Lachey at 209. But after suffering a quad injury Oct. 26, it’s questionable as to whether Lachey will play against the Bruins.

Perhaps more costly for the Hawkeyes, however, is an injury to their starting quarterback.

Cade McNamara suffered a concussion that same day, causing him to miss Iowa’s matchup last week against Wisconsin. With him ruled out of Friday’s action, backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan will suit up in Pasadena.

Sullivan made his first career start for the Hawkeyes against the Badgers. The Northwestern transfer delivered just 10 passes on the day, completing seven of them for 93 yards.

As such, Iowa unsurprisingly relied on its ground game to wallop Wisconsin 42-10. The Hawkeyes ran for 329 yards, with Johnson carrying the load at 135 yards on 24 carries.

With a relatively inexperienced signal-caller who has yet to eclipse 250 pass attempts in his collegiate career and a receiving core that could be missing its biggest asset, the Bruins can expect the Hawkeyes to run the ball.

More precisely – and almost certainly: They can expect Johnson to run the ball.

Iowa’s Defense:
Defensive scheme: 4-3
Strength: Rushing defense
Weakness: Red zone defense
X-factor: LB Jay Higgins

After a top-10 nationwide defense last year, the Hawkeyes have taken a step back.

While Iowa still boasts the 18th-best defense by yards allowed per game, it seems the culprit of its woes has been the passing defense.

Since losing standout cornerback Cooper DeJean in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Hawkeyes have gone from allowing 170.7 passing yards per game in 2023 to 203.4 in 2024.

The holes prove worst in the red zone, where Iowa has allowed scores 89.5% of the time – including 11 passing touchdowns over 19 opportunities.

The slight drop in defensive production bodes well for the Bruins, who’ve relied heavily on moving the ball through the air this season – and may hope to ride the hot hand of redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers come Friday.

Still, 18th place is not bad, and Iowa’s rushing defense has held steady. In 2023, the Hawkeyes were allowing 111.8 yards per game on the ground, and in 2024 the number sits at 106.3.

Leading the charge is linebacker Jay Higgins – the only Big Ten player with more total tackles than Bruin redshirt junior linebacker Carson Schwesinger.

Higgins has picked up 94 total tackles – 39 of them solo – along with a sack and three interceptions this season, tying him with defensive back Jermari Harris for the team lead in picks.

Defensive lineman Aaron Graves has also posted notable numbers, registering a team-leading five sacks and tying for the Hawkeyes’ most tackles for loss this season with six.

The defense has been a hallmark of Ferentz’s Iowa teams, and this year’s team is no different. But if the Hawkeyes’ biggest strength is their rushing defense, the Bruins can’t lose with a ground attack they don’t have.