Indiana
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti praises UCLA as ‘undefeated’ in wake of midseason surge
As UCLA prepared to try to topple its highest-ranked opponent in nearly two decades, one coach talked about the challenges of beating an undefeated team, of stopping its vaunted rushing attack, of halting its quick starts.
The coach was Curt Cignetti.
His team just happened to be No. 2 Indiana, the pop-up juggernaut that the Bruins will try to take down on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
“We’re playing a 3-0 football team that’s undefeated, that’s 3-0 in the conference since they have retooled their staff,” Cignetti told reporters. “Very impressive football team.”
So startling is the transformation that the Bruins have made since their winless start that they are the ones now being praised by the coach of one of the nation’s top teams.
Surging UCLA (3-4 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) is only the third Big Ten team to lose its first four games and win its next three, joining 1963 Indiana and 2001 Penn State.
Of course, the Bruins hope the parallels end there given that those Hoosiers went on to lose their final two games and those Nittany Lions finished with a losing record.
Cignetti made the 2025 Bruins sound like a team for the ages, pointing out that they were averaging 233 yards rushing per game over the last three games while dominating the time of possession battle and outscoring opponents 58-17 in the first half over that same span.
UCLA will head into a nationally televised “Big Noon” showdown against Indiana (7-0, 4-0) having already taken down a top-10 team this season, though their 42-37 victory over then-No. 7 Penn State earlier this month has lost considerable luster given the Nittany Lions’ ensuing free fall.
Fortunately for the Bruins, interim coach Tim Skipper played for Pat Hill at Fresno State, meaning he embraces the “Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere” mindset that made the scrappy Bulldogs a national phenomenon because of their fearlessness.
UCLA wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer catches a pass over Maryland defensive back Jamare Glasker during the Bruins’ win on Oct. 18.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
“That’s always part of me; I’ve been brainwashed that way, to be honest with you,” Skipper said. “But, yeah, I mean, to me, once the whistle blows, it’s just us against you. I mean, it’s time to go. Let’s see who had the better week of practice, let’s see who’s more prepared, let’s see who wants this thing. So that’s how I see it. We’re going to kick it off, we’re going to have to be ready to strain for every inch and let’s see what happens.”
Asked to assess Indiana, Skipper heaped praise upon a team that is among the best in the nation in almost every major statistical category.
“I am still trying to identify weaknesses,” Skipper said. “Like, it is crazy how disciplined they are.”
UCLA last beat a team ranked as high as Indiana in a game that many Bruins fans will forever cherish — their 13-9 triumph over No. 2 USC in 2006 at the Rose Bowl.
A recruiting win
At a time of great uncertainty, when it would be easy for UCLA’s staff to worry more about their own futures than those of high school prospects who may never play for them, the Bruins have continued to recruit.
They landed another verbal commitment Monday from Travis Robertson, an offensive tackle from West Bloomfield, Mich., who was previously committed to Bowling Green.
“They have shown me that no matter what situation they are in,” Robertson told The Times, “they will always get the job done with the coaching staff and players. And I’m rooting for this staff 100%.”
UCLA’s staff has also continued to pursue recruits who have backed out of their verbal commitments, including Cooper Javorsky, an offensive lineman from San Juan Hills High who spent time visiting with offensive line coach Andy Kwon before the Bruins’ game against Maryland last weekend.
“We’re grinding over here, we’re not letting anything go to waste or not giving effort in one area or another,” Skipper said of his staff’s recruiting efforts. “It’s full speed in everything that we’re doing.”
UCLA’s 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 78 nationally by 247Sports.com, with 12 players committed.
Injury updates
Skipper said he would wait to further assess quarterback Nico Iamaleava and running backs Anthony Woods and Jaivian Thomas before providing injury updates.
Iamaleava returned from an apparent right knee injury sustained late in the game against Maryland to lead the Bruins on their winning drive. Woods and Thomas were sidelined after “both guys kind of got rolled up on,” Skipper said.
One of the robots that will begin delivering orders on the Indiana University Bloomington campus took a practice run on Thursday, June 4, 2026. There are 24 automated delivery vehicles that will be delivering food. Photo from USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
By Andrew Miller, Special to The Herald-Times
The Herald-Times, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
INDIANAPOLIS — A sleek white robot sits with a scrolling “GO HOOSIERS!” message on its pixelated front screen. It cycles through other faces too: darting eyes, blinks and hearts.
Orders placed using the Grubhub app may be delivered on the Indiana University by robots beginning June 8, 2026. Photo from USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
“These robots are very, very polite,” Rahul Shrivastav, executive director of IU Dining and Hospitality, said Thursday, June 4, during a test run.
It’s one of a fleet of 24 food-delivery robots launching June 8 on Indiana University Bloomington campus, in partnership with Grubhub and Avride. Shrivastav said they’re part of an effort to make campus food more accessible and convenient.
The robots have been tested for 18 months, mapping and learning paths. They’ll be confined to campus, with boundaries of East Third Street and Ind. 46. On the west, their coverage will extend up Indiana Avenue to 13th Street, North Walnut Grove to 17th Street and continue north on North Fee Lane.
Shrivastav said they’ll help students busy with classes and those with accessibility needs. Ordering via robot will be available on the Grubhub app. The robots will be doing deliveries from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. Shrivastav said store hours vary by location on the weekend so he advices customers to look at the store hours on the GrubHub app.
Participating locations this summer include:
- King’s Hawaiian, BlenzBowls, The Meltdown and Hubbard & Cravens at Bookmarket at Herman B Wells Library
- The Vault Pub, Sugar and Spice Bakery, The Globe, The Lantern, Union Market and Whitfield Grill at the Indiana Memorial Union.
- Eskenazi Café at the Eskenazi Museum of Art
Drew Smith, director of retail dining at IU, said the robots can hold about eight entrees with four drinks. Its trunk is well-insulated, he said, keeping hot orders hot and cold ones cold.
The delivery fee is $3.50 per order. That fee isn’t covered by student meal plans, but the food ordered can be. And Smith said the robots don’t need tips.
One of the robots that will begin delivering orders on the Indiana University Bloomington campus took a practice run on Thursday, June 4, 2026. There are 24 automated delivery vehicles that will be delivering food. A robot with a food delivery waits for a customer to pick up their order at the Indiana University Sample Gates on Thursday, June 4, 2026, during a practice run. Photo from USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
“Now, some people still throw flowers in there, and stuff,” Smith said. “I’ve seen it at other universities doing that.”
Other state universities have already introduced similar services. Purdue University adopted them in 2019, and Ball State University launched its own fleet in 2022. Shrivastav said IU waited to make sure it had the “right robot” and had time to prepare.
The robots have often made the news because of vandalism and targeted assaults. But Shrivastav said he’s not concerned about that being a problem at IU. He said students have ended up “adopting these robots and naming them” at other campuses. Still, they’ll have an added layer of security, with footage reviewable by police.
“They also have cameras everywhere,” he said. “So any vandalism, anything like that, is always recorded.”
Customers use the GrubHub app to unlock the robot when it reaches its destination. Students, parents and visitors can order food using the robot, to be delivered on the IU campus.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Food delivery robots to launch on Indiana University campus
INDIANAPOLIS − Indianapolis prosecutors announced that a 14-year-old boy has been charged in the fatal shooting of an Indiana University graduate in a politicized homicide case consuming the state’s capital.
The teen suspect is accused of killing Brett Scrogham, a 23-year-old recent graduate of Indiana University Kelley School of Business, in late May in a downtown Indianapolis parking garage. The boy faces charges of felony murder, attempted robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and dangerous possession of a firearm, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced June 5.
Officials have not released the 14-year-old boy’s identity, though they said he had no criminal history. Mears said his office has filed a petition to move the teen’s case, currently in juvenile court, to adult court.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears speaks during a press conference on Friday, June 5, 2026, in downtown Indianapolis, where he announced charges against a 14-year-old boy who was arrested and accused of killing Indiana University graduate Brett Scrogham. Scrogham was shot May 28 in a downtown parking garage and died two days later. The 14-year-old is charged with several crimes, including felony murder.
The case has drawn scrutiny from Indiana to Washington, DC, as elected officials and local law enforcement grapple with the teen’s age, youth access to firearms, and how local prosecutors are addressing crime.
Mears, a Democrat, has drawn scrutiny from Republicans in the GOP-leaning state over his handling of prosecutions in the state’s predominantly Democratic capital city.
On the Senate floor of the U.S. Capitol, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, on June 1 said Scrogham’s shooting was indicative of a “crisis” with what he called “soft-on-crime policies.”
On June 5, Mears said “a lot of people” are “very willing to assign blame” before knowing all the facts.
U.S. Sen. Jim Banks spoke on the Senate floor June 1, 2026, days after the shooting death of Brett Scrogham, 23, of Greenwood (pictured right), who died May 30 of a gunshot wound he suffered in downtown Indianapolis on May 28, 2026. Screenshot/Senator Jim Banks X profile
On May 28, Scrogham was shot while in a vehicle inside a downtown Indianapolis parking garage near the Indiana Convention Center, police said. Scrogham died two days later of a gunshot wound to the head.
On June 3, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police homicide detectives arrested the teen suspect on the city’s west side.
“While today’s arrest is significant, my heart breaks for everyone impacted by this tragedy,” Police Chief Tanya Terry said in a June 3 statement. “A young man lost his life, and another now faces allegations that will change his life forever.”
On June 5, Terry told reporters that the case wasn’t indicative of typical activity in downtown Indianapolis, with crimes in the area accounting for less than 7% of total crimes citywide.
With homicides, the figures appear even less pronounced in downtown. The most recent official data, from 2024, shows that five of the city’s 173 homicides that year happened downtown, or less than 3% of all homicides. In 2023, the number of homicides downtown was just over 1%, or two out of 169 citywide homicides.
A large pothole in the bus lane for the Red and Purple Lines on Capitol Avenue near the Indiana Statehouse on April 21, 2025. Jordan Smith/IndyStar
Since the start of 2026, there have been 57 homicides across the city, with three of them downtown, or about 5% of all homicides, according to a homicide tracker by IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network, drawing from Indianapolis police data.
Still, GOP lawmakers have focused on Indianapolis, saying that the city, particularly its downtown, needs state intervention to address rising violence. One bill in the Republican-controlled state General Assembly’s last session would have created a special district within downtown where a special prosecutor, appointed by the governor, could prosecute crimes. The bill failed.
In 2025, Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, said he was open to the state intervening in the capital after gun violence during the July 4 weekend left five dead, including two youths.
Terry said parents need to be more involved in their children’s lives to prevent them from getting involved in violence.
“Do something with your kid,” she told reporters. “Don’t let them run off and do stuff like this.”
Contributing: Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Teen charged in fatal shooting of Indiana graduate in politicized case
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