UCLA Football: Bruins Listed as Underdog Entering First Big 10 Matchup Vs. Indiana

The Bruins are unsurprisingly underdogs for their home opener.

Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

Heading into their first game against a Big Ten Conference, UCLA football is listed as +3 point underdogs to Indiana football, via Bet Online. The Bruins are set to face Indiana this Saturday following their Week 2 bye, and the over/under is set at 48.5.

The Bruins will host the Hoosiers for their Big Ten and home opener of the 2024 season at the Rose Bowl. Indiana comes into the game off of a dominant 77-3 win over Western Illinois. The Hoosiers went into the game as 44.5-point favorites and even made that spread look too small as they obliterated Western Illinois all afternoon.

Indiana scored 11 touchdowns during their win over Western Illinois, including seven touchdowns on the ground. They threw and rushed the ball for over 300 yards

Prior to their win over Western Illinois, Indiana earned a 31-7 win over Florida International University in Week 1. The Hoosiers have easily gotten the best of their first two opponents, but have yet to play a power-five team or conference opponent this season.

Indiana struggled significantly in conference play a season ago, going just 1-8 against their Big Ten rivals. The lone Big Ten team that Indiana defeated a season ago was Wisconsin. Overall, Indiana finished the campaign just 3-9.

This is not the same Indiana team from a season ago. The Hoosiers' lead running back is Wake Forest transfer Justice Ellison, who rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries Saturday. The Hoosiers also have a new starting quarterback in Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke. Through his first two games, Rourke is 30 of 41 for 448 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Even with a revamped Indiana roster, this is expected to be a competitive game between the two teams. For UCLA to stay in this game and contend for their first Big Ten win, they cannot play the way they did in the first half against Hawaii last week. During that game, quarterback Ethan Garbers was inaccurate in the first half and the run game could not get going at all.

The Bruins managed to come back in the second half to earn a 16-13 win, but they will not be able to afford the amount of mistakes they made in Honolulu if they want to beat the spread.