This is the fourth installment of InsideNU’s “Know Your Opponent” for Northwestern Football’s 2025 season. The ‘Cats’ second Big Ten conference game will be in Evanston for the third week in a row to host UCLA. The Bruins had some big changes this offseason and are looking to be on the up.
The Basics
Returning Production: 45% overall (54% offense, 37% defense); 100th in FBS
2024 Record: 5-7 (3-6 B1G)
Head Coach: DeShaun Foster (second season)
The Stats
2025 SP+ Overall: 51st
2025 SP+ Offense: 72nd
2025 SP+ Defense: 37th
2025 SP+ Special Teams: 54th
2024 Capsule
In their first Big Ten season, the Bruins weren’t great. A few players stood out on defense, including Carson Schwesinger and Oluwafemi Oladejo, but in general this team struggled to make waves in its new conference. Quarterback Ethan Garbers failed to eclipse 3,000 passing yards on the season and the Bruins overall just barely rushed for over 1,000 net yards. The two leading pass catchers were tight end Moliki Matavao and running back T.J. Harden, with no other receivers gaining more than 350 yards in 2024.
UCLA did have a tough schedule that included three 2024 playoff teams, but towards the end of the season the Bruins started to put things together and keep games closer or outright win.
Offensive Overview
One of the biggest stories of the offseason resulted in UCLA landing a new starting quarterback. First, Appalachian State’s Joey Aguilar committed to the Bruins in December of 2024 and was slated to be the signal caller. However, when the spring transfer portal opened back up, things got strange. Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava entered the portal looking for a massive NIL deal. He ended up signing with UCLA, pushing Aguilar to transfer again (he ended up at Tennessee). The former five-star recruit passed for 2,616 yards with 19…
Source link : https://www.insidenu.com/2025/7/5/24460330/2025-northwestern-football-know-your-opponent-ucla-bruins
Author :
Publish date : 2025-07-05 16:13:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
