If the Bruins can hold on to this rhythm through the game, coach Foster will head back to Westwood a happy man. Iowa – home to one of the top rushing attacks and the country’s No. 2 running back – is struggling to rush the ball with a meager 34 yards on the ground. 

UCLA, meanwhile, is last in the FBS in rushing this season with just 73 yards a game. Hear this: the Bruins are on track to amass 292 yards on the ground in this game alone. 

It’s almost like Iowa and UCLA are switching roles tonight. 

I’ll say this – the last time I was at the Rose Bowl, in this exact seat, UCLA succumbed to 21-17 a disheartening and inexcusable loss to Minnesota. There was little good to say about a pretty abysmal team that looked on track for a 1-11 or 2-10 season. 

How the narrative has changed this time around. Coach DeShaun Foster’s team is looking like a legitimate bowl-eligible arsenal, and one that will close this season out with perhaps more highs than lows. 

I don’t want to get too optimistic, though, because this team has also shown its tendency to fall off in the second half. For now, I need some dinner.