Sep 28, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster during the second quarter against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Early Look at MSU's 2025 Opponents: UCLA

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 6:00 AM ET

Michigan State's Homecoming game in Week 7 should be a good one.

The Spartans will host UCLA in what will be the first meeting between the two programs since 1974.

The Bruins are in a very similar position as Michigan State. Both teams come off 5-7 seasons and enter the second season under a new head coach.

DeShaun Foster is a Bruin legend and is looking to make his team prominent again in its second year in the Big Ten.

He has a new quarterback in junior Nico Iamaleava, who made headlines this spring when he transferred out of Tennessee and joined UCLA, completely flipping the outlook on the program as it heads into the 2025 season.

One major question surrounding the team is its receiving corps, as the Bruins lost their top three receiving-yard leaders from last season. They do return sophomore wideout Kwazi Gilmer and redshirt senior Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, and added transfer junior wide receiver Mikey Matthews from Cal, but none of them are exactly proven weapons, though Gilmer has strong potential.

There is also still concern for UCLA at running back. The Bruins had the worst run offense in the conference last season and lost their leading rusher, TJ Harden, who transferred to SMU. They did bring in transfer junior Jaivian Thomas from Cal, and four-star Karson Cox, and they return redshirt senior Jalen Berger, a former Spartan running back, but there is no real indication that UCLA's ground game will be improved, especially with an offensive line that didn't exactly get glaringly better, despite some portal additions.

Defensively, UCLA lost several assets, including linebackers Carson Schwesinger and Kain Medrano, as well as edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo and defensive tackle Jay Toia. It stocked up its secondary with portal additions and filled some needs in other areas of the defense, but the aforementioned departures left this unit in rebuild mode.

The Bruins shouldn't be counted out, but there's definitely much that remains to be seen with this team. Michigan State will be coming off two straight road games with a bye in between, so this could serve as a nice bounce-back game if the Spartans need it. And a jam-packed Homecoming crowd should help that.

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