UCLA football (3-4, 3-1 Big Ten) has the opportunity to get back to .500 after starting the season 0-4 when it faces No. 2 Indiana (7-0, 4-0) on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. A victory would mark the Bruins’ fourth straight and would continue a storyline and a season that seemed impossible just three weeks ago. The matchup marks the second time the two teams have met in program history, with the only other affair coming last season in Indiana’s 42-13 battering of UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Here are UCLA’s predictions from Sports editor Connor Dullinger, assistant Sports editor Grant Walters – along with a guest prediction from assistant Photo editor Aidan Sun and Digital managing editor Zimo Li.

Connor Dullinger
Sports editor
Prediction: Indiana 31, UCLA 24

Picking the winner of this game felt akin to a parent choosing their favorite child.

Both teams are compelling.

The Bruins are writing one of the most captivating stories in college sports – and Saturday’s chapter could be the climax.

UCLA’s defense no longer looks like the team that failed to stop a parked car. The players from the 0-4 start may have stayed the same, but senior defensive analyst Kevin Coyle – who assistant coach and passing game coordinator Demetrice Martin deemed a “mad scientist” – has figured out the secret formula.

The offense has more than shown its ability to perform with its back against the wall – scoring 13 points in the final six minutes to defeat Maryland – and the capability to blow a ship out of water, scoring 80 combined points against Penn State and Michigan State.

But Indiana is, rightfully so, the second-ranked team in the country.

The Hoosiers are one of the most well-rounded teams in the country, ranking seventh in the nation in total defense and total offense – one of three teams to be in the top 10 in both categories.

Moreover, they are one of best-coached teams in the country. Curt Cignetti’s 18-2 record over his first 20 games as the Indiana head honcho ties for second as the best record after taking over a losing team.

Cignetti is someone who will not be tricked. He said it himself on Monday, when he touted UCLA as a 3-0 team despite its 3-4 record.

While UCLA could have Trojan-horsed former Penn State head coach James Franklin and Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith, Cignetti is prepared for one of the hottest teams in the nation.

I said if UCLA beats Maryland, it would get the Big Noon Kickoff in Bloomington – and it did.

[Related: Dully’s Drop: UCLA football changes to optimistic outlook, trajectory may carry facing Maryland]

And as much as I have said that UCLA has a chance to win – and at the very least will cover the 25.5 point spread – this is the real world.

Not everything has a happy ending. The better team will win Saturday.

And there is no doubt in my mind that it’s Indiana.

Grant Walters
Assistant Sports editor
Prediction: Indiana 45, UCLA 10

It is hard to fool me twice.

I said that UCLA Football would open the season 4-0 prior to the start of the 2025 campaign – the team failed to record a single win during that stretch, suffering one of the most embarrassing defeats in program history with a 25-point loss to New Mexico at the Rose Bowl Sept. 12.

[Related: Between Two Bruins: Daily Bruin Sports answers your questions about the 2025 season]

Despite the Bruins’ recent surge under a new-look coaching staff, I am not going to make a fool of myself again.

Let’s not forget what happened last year when Indiana throttled UCLA 42-13.

The Hoosiers have only improved since then.

Indiana has earned its highest AP ranking in program history at No. 2. The Curt Cignetti-led group defeated then-No. 23 Illinois by more than 50 points in a record-setting performance and then proceeded to capture a double-digit victory against then-No. 6 Oregon on Oct. 11 in Eugene.

And the Hoosiers’ ground attack sets them apart from everyone else.

Indiana averages 226 rushing yards per game, which ranks second in the Big Ten and No. 13 in the nation. UCLA has faced just one other team with a better rushing attack: Utah, which ran for 286 yards against UCLA’s front seven en route to a 43-10 season-opening beatdown.

The Bruins struggle to contain opposing ground arsenals, forfeiting 186 rushing yards per contest. The only affair where they have held their opponent to below 100 rushing yards this season was in their 38-13 victory against the Spartans.

UCLA is going to struggle – especially against Indiana’s unique rushing approach.

Three running backs carry the Hoosiers’ backfield load, with Kaelon Black, Roman Hemby and Khobie Martin each boasting more than 250 rushing yards and two ground touchdowns through seven games. The backfield arsenal’s multifaceted nature will give the Hoosiers flexibility to rely on whichever tailback is achieving the most penetration.

But no rushing arsenal is effective without a formidable offensive line. The Hoosiers wield an elite offensive front that has allowed just six sacks during the 2025 campaign.

Therefore, I am confident that Indiana – who ranks fifth in the nation with nearly 34 minutes of possession time each game – has the tools to control the pace of the game and dominate UCLA’s front seven.

And if the Bruins can fool me twice, they may just capture a national championship.

Zimo Li
Digital managing editor
Prediction: UCLA 20, Indiana 17

“It’s a great day to be alive and be a Bruin.”

Jerry Neuheisel’s cheers in the locker room are a staple of my Instagram feed each Saturday night.

I have never been much of a football fan, and the 2025 UCLA football experience was comically bad. From the hours of driving to the Rose Bowl, to former head coach DeShaun Foster’s weekly fumble or the Bruins’ mostly empty stadium – there is nothing I wanted to do less on my weekends.

Until three Saturdays ago.

Watching UCLA beat then-No.7 Penn State was electric.

And the battering of Michigan State only solidified my confidence. 30,000 feet in the air, my eyes were glued to the screen as I watched UCLA scrape by Maryland. Even the abysmal Southwest Airlines internet service did not stop me from watching.

For the first time since coming to Westwood, I want to go to a football game.

I will admit the Hoosiers are a tough opponent. Their perfect record ranked them second on the AP Poll. But perfection is hard to maintain, and UCLA has been defying the polls all season.

This Saturday, the 7-0 Hoosiers must face the potential of losing to a once-0-4 team – a team inundated with momentum and excitement – in their home stadium. The Hoosiers will match up against a team who knows how to win, even when the game gets tough.

It is almost Halloween, and the UCLA football team is the scariest team in town.

A win against Indiana could very well make it the best day to be alive and be a Bruin.

Aidan Sun
Assistant Photo editor
Prediction: UCLA 24, Indiana 20

I was skeptical of UCLA’s ability to sustain winning after beating then-No. 7 Penn State and Michigan State.

Everything went right for the Bruins in those two games – but the true measure of a team comes when not everything does.

Against Maryland, the offense sputtered with seven punts, three turnovers and just seven points heading into the fourth quarter.

But instead of returning to its losing ways, this time, something was different.

The defense played lights out before coming up with a critical fourth-quarter interception – the team’s first interception this season.

Then – when all seemed lost after redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava was helped off the field with an apparent game-ending injury – he returned the next possession to the roar of the Rose Bowl crowd to lead UCLA’s game-winning drive.

The Bruins found a way.

[Related: UCLA football clinches win over Maryland as Iamaleava leads final-minute charge]

On paper, there is no reason they should stand a chance against the nation’s No. 2 team.

The Hoosiers, undoubtedly a national championship contender, are the only team in the nation ranking top five in both offensive and defensive scoring.

There is an unmistakable belief, however, that has been pulsing through this team since Tim Skipper was named interim head coach – a belief that insurmountable odds can be overcome, and destiny can be rewritten.

Against Indiana, this faith will be tested again. The Bruins cannot afford a shootout.

They need to control the tempo, own the clock and keep Hoosier quarterback Fernando Mendoza off the field.

But after everything we have seen, who is to say the Bruins cannot pull off the impossible? If the defensive performance from last week matches the offense from the previous two, there is no game UCLA cannot win.

The scrappy Bruin football team has defied both narratives and expectations. They have “strained” through national scrutiny, coaching overturns and every excuse to quit.

When nobody believed in them, they gave themselves a reason to believe.

And – according to former UCLA head coach and Jerry’s father, Rick Neuheisel – “If you believe you can win, you can find a way.”

Boy, do I believe.