On the back of two road wins, UCLA football (3-5, 2-4 Big Ten) will be at the Rose Bowl on Friday night for its annual homecoming game, this time facing Iowa (6-3, 4-2) in what could be the Bruins’ first home victory. Here are this week’s predictions from Sports editor Ira Gorawara, assistant Sports editor Aaron Doyle and senior staff Cecilia Schmitz – along with guest predictions from slot editor Barnett Salle-Widelock and assistant Photo editor Michael Gallagher.

Ira Gorawara
Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 27, Iowa 24

My energy Friday is brimming with a belief sparked by England’s Three Lions: It’s coming home.

It’s the notorious football anthem that echoes across the pond – though they sing a different kind of football. Regardless, the sentiment fits perfectly for UCLA football’s homecoming.

It’s coming home, it’s coming home. Football’s coming home.

And what better day than Westwood’s annual homecoming, where a parents-and students-filled cauldron at the Rose Bowl hurls Iowa’s hopes back to the Midwest.

While the English pipe dream of football coming home has eluded them for years – and by that, I mean literally 58 years – the Bruins could be just hours removed from the feat.

Call it intuition or just the magic of homecoming, but my gut says the Bruins will pull this one off. That’s not to discount coach DeShaun Foster’s preparation – his corps look primed for victory on the field. I’d be irrational to forecast a blowout, and though I may be leaning to the side of over-optimism, I’m not illogical to predict a win of slim margins.

UCLA has shaken off a rough stretch in the first half of its season, signaling that its five-game skid was more a product of top-tier opposition than subpar talent. Redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers is producing career-high figures for the Bruins, and things start clicking when the leader is on track.

Garbers will have to be faultless in his aerial routes while adding his signature burst on the ground attack – particularly with a vanishing running back corps this season. Iowa is stingy through the air, but Garbers does have available targets able to stack up yards.

It’ll all be about disciplined football – what is supposed to be Foster’s first pillar. But it’s homecoming, so victory will come home to Westwood.

Come on, it’s in the name.

Aaron Doyle
Assistant Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 35, Iowa 20

All good things come in threes.

For UCLA, that could come in a win against Iowa on Friday.

Despite a slow start to its 2024 season, UCLA turned things around in its past two games. Against both Rutgers and Nebraska, UCLA defied the odds to prove what it is capable of.

While the Hawkeyes might be one of the Bruins’ strongest Big Ten opponents – sitting as the fifth best team in the conference – UCLA isn’t making any excuses anymore.

Garbers was weighed down by an ankle injury through the early weeks of October but has returned in full force, recording a 77.7% average completion percentage through the last two games – a stark contrast from the combined 54.1% he put in the season’s two opening contests.

When Garbers went down, so did the team.

The same story might apply to the Hawkeyes.

Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara suffered a concussion Oct. 26, removing him from the squad’s last game against Wisconsin. His absence from Friday’s game will leave the door wide open for UCLA to deny Iowa its own three-peat.

And with the home crowd at the Bruins’ advantage, Foster seems ready to clear his foggy reputation with UCLA’s first home win of the season.

Cecilia Schmitz
Daily Bruin senior staff
Prediction: UCLA 27, Iowa 21

One of my favorite things as a pessimist is being pleasantly surprised.

It doesn’t happen that often – I keep expectations low so that when I’m caught off guard, it’s in a positive way.

UCLA football caught me off guard last week.

In my prediction, I wrote that UCLA would lose decisively to Nebraska. However, I was proven wrong.

Tentatively, off of a two-game win streak, I’m starting to believe that the Bruins have begun to hit their stride.

Those previous two wins were on the road. Now, UCLA will return home to play during Bruin Family Weekend, where the stands will be filled with students and parents alike.

That means an even bigger crowd, and even more people to impress.

UCLA will be challenged both defensively and offensively. Hawkeye linebacker Jay Higgins will be a thorn in the Bruin offensive line, having already logged 94 tackles this season and three interceptions.

Garbers’ protection units will have their work cut out for them in protecting the signal-caller and his receivers to allow UCLA to capitalize.

And although Iowa’s offense was a work in progress to start the season, it now averages 222.4 rushing yards per game, good for 10th in the nation.

Even in its losses so far this season, UCLA has held up better than I expected it to.

I believe the Bruins are far enough into the season to have their rhythm finally figured out.

They will rise to Iowa’s challenge.

Barnett Salle-Widelock
Slot editor
Prediction: UCLA 24, Iowa 21

The Bruins are riding somewhat of a wave of Big Ten victories.

That wave will crash straight through one riding in from the east.

Iowa is coming off of two dominating wins, steamrolling past Northwestern and Wisconsin in consecutive 40-point outings. The Hawkeyes score high and run well, and the Bruins are still on uncertain ground in a new conference.

In predicting this game, you could look at how Iowa’s 10th ranked rush offense will collide with UCLA’s 11th ranked rushing defense. You could note that the Bruins haven’t won in the Rose Bowl this year, while Iowa is 1-2 away from home.

Maybe – though it could be a stretch – you could even consider that UCLA trounced Iowa in the teams’ last meeting on the first day of 1986.

However, this season has proven the stats misleading. Under Foster’s refurbished program, it has been tough to predict which way the volatile Bruins will bounce in a given week.

After five weeks of repeated punches to the gut, the Bruins have gifted us in the last two – is asking for a third present too much?

UCLA has shown it is capable of great things – albeit sporadically – and last week’s highlight-filled show has given me a spiritual boost.

For me, then, it comes down to hope – or faith.

And this week, I have faith in the Bruins to climb another rung in the ladder to FBS respect.

Michael Gallagher
Assistant Photo editor
Prediction: UCLA 24, Iowa 17

There’s only one thing on UCLA’s cards Friday – maintain its hot streak.

The Bruins have bested their last two opponents, the Scarlet Knights and the Cornhuskers, both on the road. Their most recent victory against the Huskers was a convincing one, in which both sides of the ball came alive to form a complete team for seemingly the first time all season.

Garbers avoided what has been his kryptonite all season – the dreaded turnover – while throwing 219 yards for two scores. Redshirt junior linebacker Carson Schwesinger led the Bruin defense, which racked up over 60 total tackles.

The Bruins will be facing a tough opponent in the Hawkeyes, though, who have mopped the floor in their last two games.

Iowa outscored Nebraska and Wisconsin for a combined 82-24, largely thanks to running back Kaleb Johnson – whose supernatural run game allowed him to take the pigskin to the house six times through the affairs.

Coming into this game, I’m going to be an optimist: Despite its recent dominance, Iowa is two time zones away from home after a short week of practice, traveling to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1986.

The Bruins, on the other hand, are on their home turf trying to prove their belonging in the Big Ten. After bites of success, they’ll be plating up the full win Friday.