As Indiana football’s defense took the field late in the first quarter of its matchup against UCLA on Saturday, senior linebacker Aiden Fisher paced along the sideline without a helmet. Fisher sported a left-knee brace and draped a white towel around his neck, while redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Jones had a communication system installed into his helmet.
On the game’s second play from the line of scrimmage, Fisher intercepted UCLA redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava and took the ball into the end zone to push the Hoosiers out in front 7-0 early.
Heading into Saturday’s game, Fisher tied the team lead with 48 tackles this season. But the Hoosiers played most of the game without their All-American linebacker and needed others to step up in his absence.
Indiana did just that.
The Cream and Crimson forced three turnovers and generated seven tackles for loss Saturday afternoon. This defensive outing cumulated into a dominant 56-6 Indiana victory over UCLA at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
“Bryant (Haines) does a great job,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said postgame. “The kids respond. They have a lot of pride.”
UCLA entered the matchup scoring 100 points across its last three games, including a 42-point performance on the road against Penn State on Oct. 4. The scoring outbursts came after the program promoted Jerry Neuheisel from tight ends coach to offensive play-caller ahead of its showdown in University Park, Pennsylvania.
After taking over signaling duties on the field, Jones and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines helped rally the Indiana defense against a red-hot UCLA offense with Fisher sidelined.
“It's something that you know, you want to prepare for but you hope never happens,” Jones said.
Jones emphasized the importance of a next-man-up mentality. He set the tone by leading Indiana with eight tackles and forced a fumble on a third and one in the second quarter to set the Hoosiers’ offense up at the UCLA 29-yard line –– the first of his collegiate career. The London, Ohio, native added a half-sack and a pass break up.
In addition to missing Fisher, Indiana senior defensive lineman Kellan Wyatt suffered a “long term” knee injury in the Hoosiers’ 38-13 victory over Michigan State on Oct. 18. In Wyatt’s first full game missed, redshirt junior defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker rose to the moment.
Tucker led the team with 1.5 sacks and a season-high 2.5 tackles for loss, while collecting four total tackles against the Bruins.
“Yes, I had a lot of confidence going into the year,” Tucker said. “Prepping, prepping, prepping, like I said. You know, me and Mikail (Kamara), we craft all summer and we work for these moments. So you know, it’s just something that we knew could happen and we just had to show everybody else.”
But it was not just the defensive front and linebacker unit that stepped up. The Indiana secondary helped limit Iamaleava to 113 passing yards and a completion percentage of 48% –– both season-lows for Iamaleava. The Bruin’s longest play through the air went for 18 yards, as the Hoosiers consistently disrupted passes.
Sixth-year redshirt senior defensive back Devan Boykin logged a season-high seven tackles for the Hoosiers and his first interception of the 2025 season.
Collectively, the Indiana defense held UCLA to just a one for 11 third down conversion rate, while zero of the Bruins drives lasted over four minutes.
“Well, you know, preparation,” Cignetti said. “It's good preparation and execution. But, you know, to me it's all the same; you know, it starts up front. You’ve got to win the line of scrimmage. You’ve got to put heat on the quarterback on defense.”
Following their collective defensive effort against UCLA and a two-game homestand, the Hoosiers head back onto the road when they take on Maryland at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 1. Indiana will hope to have Fisher back for that contest to build off its dominant defensive effort Saturday.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
