UCLA
Iowa
Football to Host Iowa for Homecoming Game Friday
November 04, 2024 | Football
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium
Kickoff Time: 6 p.m. PT
Television: FOX
TV Talent: Connor Onion (play-by-play), Mark Helfrich (analyst)
Local Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM570
Local Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Matt Stevens (analyst), Wayne Cook (sideline)
SiriusXM: Ch. 106 or 196
Live Stats
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THE MATCHUP
The UCLA football team (3-5, 2-4 Big Ten) returns home this Friday for its Homecoming game against Iowa (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) starting at 6 p.m. PT. The 10th all-time meeting between the Bruins and Hawkeyes, and first since the 1986 Rose Bowl Game, will be televised on FOX. The UCLA Sports Network will broadcast the contest, which will also be aired over SiriusXM.
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The Bruins will wear their valorย blue throwback uniforms, a tribute to UCLA's 1954 national team.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Bruins are coming off a pair of road Big Ten wins, most recently a 27-20 triumph at Nebraska on Nov. 2. Ethan Garbers passed for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns while pulling out a season-long 57-yard rush to help the Bruins build a 20-point lead midway through the third quarter. A pair of big defensive plays helped the Bruins weather a Huskers comeback attempt. Linebacker Kain Medrano recorded a 38-yard pick-six on the opening play of the second half to give the Bruins momentum, and cornerback Kaylin Moore sealed the result with an interception with under a minute remaining in the game. Freshman wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer and redshirt senior running back Jalen Berger both caught touchdowns for UCLA. Carson Schwesinger posted 13 tackles, including a key sack that caused a turnover on downs in the fourth quarter, to lead UCLA in that stat for the seventh time in eight games this season.
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SERIES HISTORY
UCLA leads the all-time series over Iowa, 7-2, dating back to 1938. Friday marks the two programs' first meeting in 38 years since the 1986 Rose Bowl Game. Redshirt freshman RB Eric Ball rushed for 227 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 13-ranked Bruins to a 45-28 victory over the Hawkeyes in the 1986 Rose Bowl. QB Matt Stevens completed 16 of 26 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown, and scored UCLA's last TD on a fourth-quarter sneak. James Washington, Tommy Taylor, and Ken Norton led the Bruin defense with 10 tackles apiece. UCLA limited the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes to 13 points during a 45-minute span in which the Bruin offense was scoring 45 points.
The victory remains UCLA's most-recent in a Rose Bowl Game.
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WELCOME TO THE FOS ERA
It is a year of change for UCLA football, as head coachย DeShaun Fosterย took the reins at his alma mater Feb. 12, 2024. A member of the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame for his prowess in the Bruin offensive backfield from 1998-2001, Foster spent seven seasons in the National Football League. He piled up more that 4,500 total yards and 16 touchdowns, including a 33-yard scoring dash in Super Bowl XXXVIII as a member of the Carolina Panthers. Foster spent the previous 11 seasons โ including 10 at UCLA โ in the collegiate coaching ranks before being promoted from associate head coach and running backs coach.
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AT A GLANCE
โข LB Carson Schwesinger is the Big Ten leader in total tackles per game (10.6), double-digit tackle performances (six), solo tackles per game (6.8) and solo tackles (54). Schwesinger, who leads all of college football in solo tackles per game (6.8) and ranks second in solo tackles (54), was named a semifinalist for The Butkus Award on Monday.
โข Schwesinger led UCLA with 13 tackles in UCLA's win at Nebraska (Nov. 2), marking his sixth straight double-digit tackling performance. He is the first Bruin to accomplish that feat since Eric Kendricks in 2014, who went on to win The Butkus Award that season.
โข Schwesinger has recorded 10-plus tackles in the past six games โ his first six career starts โ against LSU (Sept. 21), Oregon (Sept. 28), Penn State (Oct. 5), Minnesota (Oct. 12), Rutgers (Oct. 19) and Nebraska (Nov. 2), leading the team with 12, 13, 15, 13, 10 and 13 tackles in each contest, respectively.
โข WR Kwazi Gilmer was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after having the most impactful game of his freshman campaign thus far at Nebraska. The Sierra Canyon School product posted a season-high 88 receiving yards while reeling in his first career TD reception on a 48-yard grab.
โข QB Ethan Garbers is coming off another efficient outing, completing 17 of 25 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns in UCLA's 27-20 win over Nebraska. The performance marked his third multi-TD game of the year and eighth of his career. Garbers has now thrown for multiple touchdowns in back-to-back weeks, marking the second time in his career he has accomplished that feat. His six TDs versus Rutgers and Nebraska are the most of his career in a two-game span.
โข Garbers added a career-long 57-yard rush at Nebraska. Garbers has the Bruins' two-longest runs by any player this season (57 yards, 49 yards). It was also the longest run by a UCLA QB since Dorian Thompson-Robinson had a 68-yard gain at home against Bowling Green on Sept. 3, 2022.
โข Garbers was awarded UCLA's first-ever Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award after leading the Bruins to their first conference win in a 35-32 decision at Rutgers (Oct. 19). Garbers recorded the best statistical game of his career, setting single-game career highs in passing yards (383), passing touchdowns (four) and completion percentage (32-38, 84%). He also completed the longest pass of his career (67 yards) and made the then-longest rush of his career (49 yards), both for touchdowns.
โข Garbers' completion percentage (.842) at Rutgers was fifth-highest in UCLA single-game history since 1980. The last time a Bruin QB had a higher completion percentage was Oct. 13, 2018 at California (Dorian Thompson-Robinson; 13-15, .866). Additionally, Garbers is the second Bruin QB in program history to complete at least 30 passes with a completion percentage of 80% or higher (Thompson-Robinson vs. USC in 2022; 30-36, .833)
โข Garbers completed TD passes to four different receivers at Rutgers, becoming the first Bruin to accomplish that feat since Thompson-Robinson on Nov. 7, 2020 at Colorado.
โข UCLA's rushing defense ranks 11th in the nation with 100.4 yards allowed on the ground per game. Last year, the Bruins finished second in the nation in rushing defense, giving up 80.8 rushing yards per game to opponents in 2023.
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UCLA OFFICIALLY JOINS THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE
UCLA officially joined the Big Ten Conference Aug. 2, ushering in a new era in the Bruins' storied and illustrious athletic tradition. UCLA, along with previous conference foes Oregon, USC and Washington, have moved to an 18-team Big Ten Conference with a footprint spanning from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
UCLA's approaching membership in the Big Ten Conference was initially announced more than two years ago, on June 30, 2022.
"The day has finally come," said Martin Jarmond, The Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics. "After two years of planning and preparation, UCLA is proud and excited to join the Big Ten Conference. I am grateful for the energy and effort that has been put into shaping this pivotal move by our hard-working staff members, as well as our coaches and student-athletes. The investments we have made into our programs and student-athletes over the past 24 months have set us up to continue to compete at the elite level that defines UCLA Athletics."
TICKETS TO UCLA HOME GAMES AT THE ROSE BOWL
Various ticket packages, including season, mini-plan and single-game tickets, for the Bruins' inaugural Big Ten season are now available. Fans can clickย HEREย or contact UCLA Athletics Sales and Service at (310) 206-5991 or via emailย at tickets@athletics.ucla.edu for more information on personalized ticket options.
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