This post was updated Oct. 17 at 8:44 a.m.

After an offseason with eyes and ears all directed toward roster and coaching staff changes, the focus is finally back on football.

And the Bruins want nothing more than to compete at the Rose Bowl.

“Just from the way they looked this morning, they were pretty locked in,” said UCLA football Head Coach DeShaun Foster. “I think they are ready for another opponent. It’s been a long road just going against each other. Tempers are getting up there, guys are finally ready to really get to go against somebody else, so it’s a good time that it has finally gotten here.”

The offsite training camp in Costa Mesa, California provided the squad with key opportunities to build cohesion and camaraderie across position groups – a necessary approach for a program that brought in over 50 new players.

However, the absence of play against opponents has built a yearning to return to the gridiron in a more official capacity.

“I can’t wait to finally face someone opposite of our colors, finally get on the field and hit someone else, so I’m excited for that,” said redshirt senior offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio.

UCLA football’s wish will come true Saturday when it faces Utah in its 2025 season debut, and the contest will serve as the inaugural game at the Rose Bowl for many UCLA coaches and starters.

The chief newcomer among the squad is redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

The Long Beach, California, local told media after practice that he had attended a few Bruin football games growing up and was most recently at the Rose Bowl when UCLA lost to Oregon last September.

“I have always wanted to play in the Rose Bowl,” Iamaleava said. “I almost had a chance last year to come here and play, came up short, but I have always been excited to play in the stadium. It’s a surreal moment for me, and I can’t wait to get in there.”

Although Saturday’s affair will be Iamaleava’s first in the Rose Bowl, it is definitely not his head honcho’s first UCLA rodeo. Foster is more than accustomed to Pasadena, California after playing 21 games at the stadium as a player and completing his first campaign as a coach for his alma mater last season.

Despite his familiarity with the program, the former UCLA running back felt something he had never felt on the gridiron before – fear.

“I was scared, I was pure nerves, and I have never been scared on the football field, but it was a nervous feeling just because it was brand new and I had never been in that position,” Foster said. “I’m nowhere near where we were last year, so I feel pretty good.”

Kyle Whittingham – who has spent the last 32 years at Utah – will challenge the second-year head coach from the opposite sideline.

Whittingham has been known for a staunch defense and a formidable offensive line over his 21-year Utah coaching tenure.

And this year is no different.

The Utes boast an offensive line that includes two projected 2026 NFL first-round picks in tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu. The tandem will likely pose a significant challenge on the ends of the offensive line for a UCLA defensive front that ranked 11th in the Big Ten – tying with Purdue and Rutgers – in sacks, posting just 22 over 12 games.

Despite the stingy offensive block, the UCLA front seven is excited for the challenge.

“We know this group is a veteran group, a very good group. We played them two years ago and the majority of that O-line is still there,” said redshirt senior defensive lineman Gary Smith III. “Those guys are good guys, so it’s going to be a test, but I’m going to enjoy the matchup for sure.”

Foster echoed Smith’s confidence, adding that the defensive line should prosper with the return of key veterans who have recovered from injuries.

“We just have to let the world know that we have a pretty good D-line that’s coming back, we have two guys that if we had them last season, it would have been lights out for a lot of offenses going against us,” Foster said. “Now they’re going to be able to show what they can do this year.”