Indiana refuses to overlook UCLA after stunning turnaround: 'We're playing a 3-0 football team'

If you looked at the Big Ten standings, you’d see that UCLA, Indiana’s Week 9 opponent, is 3-4 with a 3-1 conference record. But if you asked Curt Cignetti or the Hoosiers, they’d tell a different story.

While UCLA’s record really is 3-4, the Bruins have won three straight games since former head coach DeShaun Foster was fired and the rest of his staff parted ways with the then 0-4 team. Since then, the Bruins are undefeated, which is all Cignetti and his team are concerned about ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

“UCLA, we’re playing a 3-0 football team that’s undefeated, 3-0 in conference. Since they have retooled their staff, now have their new defensive coordinator and offensive staff in place, very impressive football team,” Cignetti said during his weekly media availability Monday.

Yes, this is classic coach speak. Yes, UCLA isn’t technically undefeated, but Cignetti does have a point, and he backed it up with cold, hard facts.

“Offensively this team is rushing for 233 yards a game right now in their last three games, which would be against Penn State, Michigan State and Maryland,” he explained.

“Time of possession, 36 and a half minutes. That means the other team has the ball 23 and a half minutes. Fifty percent on third down, 70% on fourth down. They’ve gained two possessions with two fake punts. They’re keeping the ball away from the other team. They’re starting fast. Outscoring people in the first half 58-17. Averaging 33 points a game.”

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With these kinds of numbers since the new staff, led by interim head coach Tim Skipper and interim offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel, took over, UCLA has reinvented itself. This was a team that didn’t lead for a single second in its first four games of the season but has since strung together three impressive wins in as many weeks.

Beating Penn State at home wasn’t a one-off miracle; it was the start of a turning point in the season for the once-miserable UCLA. The Bruins aren’t a pushover anymore, and Indiana understands that to the fullest extent of the word. Cignetti has preached it throughout the week, and the players have heard the message.

“In the team meetings, (Cignetti)’s not going to say something for no reason. If we ignore it and go into a game thinking it’ll be an easy win, that’s when we get slapped in the face. We try to make sure we listen to what he says and never take anything for granted,” wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. said following practice Tuesday.

Ahead of every game, no matter the opponent, Indiana puts 100% focus into preparation. The Hoosiers won’t overlook teams even when they could get away with it, but UCLA wouldn’t fit into this category.

The Bruins haven’t just won their last three games; they’ve done so by battling adversity and generating a ton of momentum along the way. They’re tied for third in the Big Ten standings and are certainly hungry to knock off the No. 2-ranked team in the nation.

“They’ve got a lot of tempo, and they look like they’re having fun and enjoying it now. They could’ve been down about their record, but instead they changed the trajectory of their season, and things are going really well for them,” Cooper Jr. told reporters.

With a complete turnaround, UCLA doesn’t even appear to be the same team from the first four games of the season, and as a result, Indiana couldn’t care less what happened in those four Bruin losses. The Hoosiers are acting like they never happened, and it’s hard to argue against that.

READ: With Curt Cignetti’s new contract, Indiana is all in on football

“I mean, truthfully, everything we’re watching right now, their offense is the last three games. I haven’t watched any of their offense prior to that, except for maybe what I saw on TV,” Cignetti said.

The players have said the same thing. Offensive lineman Carter Smith told reporters Tuesday that he hasn’t watched a second of UCLA film from before the coaching change, and that’s something that the entire team is aligned with.

When talking heads and media members say that the UCLA turnaround is significant, that’s one thing, but Indiana truly believes that the first four games of the Bruins’ season mean absolutely nothing.

Part of it is making sure the Hoosiers don’t overlook their next opponent, but it was an intentional choice to skip out on film from the majority of UCLA’s season, and it seems like a choice that Cignetti and his team are fully committed to.

With former College Football Playoff participant Nico Iamaleava leading the way at quarterback, UCLA could pose a real threat to the Hoosiers. Indiana’s defense has been known to give up big plays early, so preventing the now-dynamic UCLA offense could be a tall task.

The Bruins won’t be shrugged off, though, as the Hoosiers know full well about their turnaround. They’re treating their visitors from Los Angeles like an undefeated team and preparing as if they were facing a top-10 team rather than a sub-.500 opponent.

While UCLA’s record says 3-4, don’t tell the Hoosiers that, because they’d say you’re dead wrong.

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