LOS ANGELES — The UCLA football team will take to its home field for the first time this season Saturday for its matchup against Indiana.
It will also be the first Big Ten Conference game in program history, setting up a memorable experience for veteran players and freshmen alike.
“Super excited, I love the Rose Bowl. It’s a great stadium, great environment, good grass, so it’s always good to play over there,” Bruins wideout J. Michael Sturdivant said after Wednesday’s practice. “The first time I went there, I was a freshman at Cal. I just walked around, it was under the lights. It’s a really cool experience to be in such a historic stadium like that.”
Head coach DeShaun Foster expressed the same enthusiasm as his players when talking about the team’s first home game.
He reminisced about his first experience at the Rose Bowl when he was a freshman running back in 1998, going up against Texas and star running back Ricky Williams, who won the Heisman Trophy that season.
UCLA defeated Texas 49-31 in that game, despite Williams rushing for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Foster rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown on seven carries in his collegiate debut.
“It was huge just to see because Texas was in my top two at the time, and just seeing them come out here and playing against them in the Rose Bowl. Seeing Ricky Williams, what a senior running back looks like,” Foster said. “He had a good game against us, but we still were able to pull out the victory. I think I scored on a toss if I can remember.”
The Bruins finished that 1998 season atop the Pac-10 Conference with a 10-2 record and the No. 8 ranking in the Associated Press poll.
More than 25 years later, Foster is attempting to guide the Bruins back to a similar level of prominence.
While the season opener against Hawai’i on Aug. 31 didn’t go as the team had hoped, particularly in the first half, the Bruins were able to squeak out a 16-13 victory to notch Foster his first victory as a head coach.
Foster acknowledged the rocky start to the season was not ideal but also emphasized the positives that can come from playing in a close game.
“The first half didn’t go exactly how we wanted it to go, but that was good that we were able to bounce back,” Foster said. “And that happening in the first game, that can prepare me to keep a positive attitude and keep the guys motivated.”
UCLA will try to make it 2-0 come Saturday, against an Indiana team which totaled 108 points in its first two games.
And while the ultimate goal is to come out of the contest with another notch in the win column, Foster also wants his players to soak in the feeling of playing at home in front of a large crowd of UCLA supporters.
“I just try to tell our guys, just live in the moment. You don’t get a lot of these opportunities,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to play a lot of games at the Rose Bowl, but I still wish I had more. You don’t get a lot of these opportunities, so just try to take full advantage of it.”
Wide receivers ready for the challenge
Foster described Indiana’s defense as “blue-collar football players” who play with energy and effort.
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He singled out Aiden Fisher, a junior linebacker who has 21 tackles and a sack in two games.
Sturdivant also brought up Indiana’s secondary as a skilled group, which the Bruins wide receivers are looking forward to going up against.
“They got a lot of talent back there. It’s going to be good to compete against a team like that,” Sturdivant said. “They’re 2-0, they got a lot of confidence, they’re coming to the Rose Bowl wanting to win. So it’s going to be fun to play against a competitive team and a talented secondary like they got.”
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