UCLA was Cinderella. Indiana turned Bruins into pumpkin, smashed them

AI-assisted summary
• Indiana defeated UCLA 56-6, ending the Bruins’ three-game winning streak.
• UCLA’s comeback hopes were dashed early after an interception was returned for a touchdown on the second play.
• The loss marked the first time this season that UCLA failed to score a touchdown.

For three weeks, UCLA might as well have been Cinderella. 

It was sporting a dirty, raggedy outfit while working to no avail. When it looked like things could only get worse, it was blessed by a fairy godmother in Tim Skipper and Jerry Neuheisel. 

With an elegant outfit and shiny glass slipper, the Bruins entered the Week 9 ball in a fancy pumpkin carriage, ready to steal the show in Bloomington.

It may have been just a few minutes past noon, but it might as well have been midnight.

It took less than a minute for that pumpkin to be smashed. Big, bad Indiana proved to be more wicked than an evil stepmother, ruining a prime opportunity for UCLA to be the belle of the ball and assert its power in the national spotlight with a rousing 56-6 win over the Bruins.

After rattling off three straight victories to recover from an 0-4 start, UCLA went into Memorial Stadium as a heavy underdog against the No. 2 team in the country. But this is Cinderella, where the most magical moments can come true even in the most unfavorable conditions. 

There was a feeling that maybe the Bruins could go toe-to-toe with the Hoosiers, make it interesting and even possibly upset Indiana.

Instead, Indiana proved it’s not going to let some fairy tale get in the way of their dominance.

The Disney magic wore off on UCLA on just the second play of the game. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava opted for a throw on a read option but threw it right in the hands of Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher, who returned it 25 yards back to the house for a quick touchdown.

It was just the first sign of a long day in the ballroom for the Bruins. The Hoosiers were relentless, hounding Iamaleava in the pocket while not letting UCLA’s improved running game break off any significant run. 

‘We didn’t really bounce back from that moment.’ Skipper said. ‘It kind of shell-shocked us, and it took a while to get back going.’

‘That kind of set the tone for the game,’ Iamaleava said.

Then the offense continued being the offense, as Fernando Mendoza and company did just about anything it wanted. Throw or run, it didn’t matter because UCLA had no answer for it. By the time UCLA was able to score a point, Indiana had already put up 28 points and the game was well in hand before the halftime break.

There’s some coincidence in the Saturday, Oct. 25 result, given it was just last year when Indiana was on its own Cinderella run. While it dominated its way to the College Football Playoff in Curt Cignetti’s first season, there was wonder if it was just a one-off and the Hoosiers would take a step back toward the depths of college football it had occupied for so long.

But the 50-point win was just another reminder in 2025 this is no magical run. This is a team more than comfortable with being the villain to team’s dreams.

Consider Memorial Stadium the evil lair, as Indiana has now won all 14 games at home under Cignetti. This season, all home wins have been by double-digits, with an average margin of victory of 43.5. It was also the first time UCLA didn’t score a touchdown this season.

In case you haven’t yet, it’s time to recognize this is no magical run Indiana is on. It’s done wearing the glass slipper and has asserted itself as a powerful force that will take a lot more than just pixie dust to defeat. 

‘You’re playing a top notch team, and we’re going to see how you cannot have mistakes when you play somebody like Indiana,’ Skipper said of watching the film of the game.

Right before kickoff, Cignetti was asked by the Fox broadcast team what scared him about UCLA’s potential to keep the magical run going. His response?

“You can’t play scared. You got to attack.”

Attack he did, and it resulted in another dream being shattered by the new big dog in college football. The belief UCLA had a chance to pull off something stunning  — only to get run out of the ball — showed it may not be possible for even the biggest believers to take down the new powerful villain of college football.

Be wary of Bloomington, Indiana, where Cinderella dreams go to die.