Opening Line: Indiana Favored Against UCLA in Big Ten Opener

Indiana football opened as a 1.5-point favorite in its Week 3 matchup against UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

Indiana Hoosiers running back Ty Son Lawton (17) celebrates his touchdown with tight end Zach Horton (44) against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Memorial Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana is a slight favorite against UCLA in its first Big Ten game under coach Curt Cignetti.

The Hoosiers opened as 1.5-point favorites, and the line has moved to 3.5 points in their favor as of Saturday afternoon on the FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is 46.5 points. Indiana's moneyline odds are minus-170, and UCLA is plus-140 on the moneyline. Indiana has a 58% chance of victory, according to ESPN Analytics.

"UCLA, a lot of tradition there. Three straight years of bowl games, 25 wins the last three years," Cignetti said Monday. "You look at us, nine wins the last three years, going on the road. Somehow we're favored, which doesn't mean anything."

Kickoff between Indiana and UCLA is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif.

Indiana football against the spread in 2024

• Week 1: Indiana did not cover a 25.5-point spread in its 31-7 win over Florida International. The game went under 52 points.

• Week 2: Indiana covered a 44.5-point spread in its 77-3 win over Western Illinois. The game went over 54.5 points.

Indiana set program records with 77 points and 701 total yards in its lopsided win over Western Illinois on Friday night. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke completed 15 of 17 passes for 268 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He led Indiana on seven touchdown drives in seven tries before resting for part of the third quarter and all of the fourth.

Indiana's defense was dominant, too. Western Illinois gained just 121 total yards all game and averaged 2.3 yards per play. Linebacker Aiden Fisher led Indiana with nine total tackles for a second straight week, and the Hoosiers totaled six sacks and eight tackles for loss. Indiana forced three fourth-quarter turnovers, including a fumble recovery by Robby Harrison, an interception by Ta'Derius Collins and a pick-six by Rolijah Hardy.

UCLA enters the matchup with a 1-0 record. The Bruins had a bye in Week 2 and won 16-13 at Hawaii in Week 1. Quarterback Ethan Garbers completed 19 of 38 passes for 272 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and he was the team's leading rusher with 47 yards on seven attempts.

Like Indiana with Cignetti, UCLA has a new head coach. After going 35-34 across six seasons, Chip Kelly left UCLA to become Ohio State's offensive coordinator. UCLA replaced him with DeShaun Foster, who was the team's running backs coach from 2017-23 and played running back for the Bruins from 1998-2001.

UCLA left the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten this season, and both new head coaches will play their first conference game on Saturday.

Related stories on Indiana football

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• INDIANA CRUSHES WESTERN ILLINOIS: Indiana football dominated all phases of Friday’s game against Western Illinois, improving to 2-0 with a 77-3 victory. The Hoosiers set a program record for total yards with 701 against the Leathernecks. CLICK HERE

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• HOW DID OUR WESTERN ILLINOIS PREDICTIONS GO? We look back at predicted outcomes for Indiana's game against Western Illinois and whether they played out or not. CLICK HERE.

• TODD'S TAKE: Indiana got an easy win and Western Illinois got paid. It was a record night at Memorial Stadium, but at some point? The domination is diminished given the weakness of the opponent and fans are left watching a game that just doesn't have much in it for them. CLICK HERE.