Who: Fresno State (6-5) at UCLA (4-7)

When: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. PT

Where: Rose Bowl | Pasadena, Calif.

TV: Big Ten Network

Last meeting: 40-37 Fresno State (Sept. 18, 2023)

All-time series: UCLA leads 6-4

Year 1 of the DeShaun Foster era will come to a close Saturday afternoon when UCLA hosts Fresno State in an intrastate nonconference season finale at the Rose Bowl.

Foster will coach the game against Bulldogs interim head coach Tim Skipper, whose family knows Foster very well.

During Foster’s playing days, Skipper’s older brother, Kelly, was the UCLA running backs coach and later the offensive coordinator from 1998 to 2002.

When Foster moved on to the NFL, their father, Jim, was his running backs coach with the Carolina Panthers.

While Jim Skipper informed Foster that he will not be in attendance, the two spoke earlier this week.

“I think it’s just a little too emotional, you know, you got his son and then his stepson, his godson on the other side,” Foster joked.

“So, but yeah, we spoke (Tuesday) and, you know, he wished me luck and I’m sure he told Tim the same thing. But I’m looking forward to seeing Tim. It was awesome when we played against each other. … So, it’s just cool, him being in the same position that I am.”

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UCLA, which has dropped back-to-back games, also looks to end a four-game losing streak in the head-to-head series — including three at the Rose Bowl.

In fact, the Bruins’ last win over the Bulldogs was in the 2000 season — when Foster was still playing.

“I reiterated to our guys just how important it is for our seniors and I’m probably going to bring up the 0-4, but that is a good stat to know,” Foster said.

While the attention has been on UCLA’s outgoing senior class, some of the future foundation of the program could get a look, Foster said.

Players can participate in up to four regular-season games and still redshirt.

While some freshmen have already crossed the threshold such as the six appearances on special teams by running back Cameron Jones, others like linebacker Isaiah Patterson have played in just one game.

The first order of business, though, will be winning the game against a Fresno State team that is bowl-eligible for a fourth consecutive year.

“There’s a few guys that we might want to see what they can do, but we’ve got to make sure that we get out there and put our best foot forward to put us in a position to be able to play some more guys, so that’s why it’s a complete team thing right now,” Foster said. “Even the young guys, you’ve got to get them ready for this game. Let’s play hard and try to get some guys some reps that haven’t played yet. Fresno’s not going to be easy, they’re not going out just easily.”

Plenty of attention will be on just how much standout linebacker Carson Schwesinger plays.

On one hand, the Bruins have made a clear push to get the redshirt junior all the publicity he can as one of five finalists for the Butkus Award given to the nation’s top linebacker.

On the other hand, Schwesinger has a decision to make about the NFL.

So, maybe his snap count will be an indication, maybe it won’t — but anything less than his regular participation would be interesting.

The ongoing story this season about UCLA’s obscene number of penalties has been beat into the ground at this point.

Foster has tried to stress the message of discipline over and over and over again in team meetings and through the media.

The issue got so bad last weekend in a loss to rival USC that three unsportsmanlike penalties at halftime led to kicking off from UCLA’s own 5-yard line to start the second half.

One of the penalties was on Bruins strength and conditioning coach Corey Miller. Video shot from the field level surfaced on social media late Monday night that showed Miller taunting a USC player before extending his middle finger.

Initially, Foster assumed Miller was attempting to separate players as the teams jawed back and forth and was puzzled that the Trojans didn’t get assessed any penalties during the scene.

Once made aware of the video, Foster then said Miller is facing disciplinary from the program.

“I wish I would have known that, but we talked about it, sat down and was able to figure that out internally and he felt pretty bad about that,” Foster said.

“He expressed his sentiments to the team, to the coaches and everybody and you’ve got to lead by example out here. You just can’t be out of control in any situation, especially when you’re in a [position] of power, so it was an unfortunate situation and he feels awful about what happened and getting a penalty and he made sure he made it right with the team.

“But there was still disciplinary stuff that we’re doing.”

Bruins edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo, who will be among the seniors playing in their final collegiate game, said it’s one more chance to put their best foot forward when it comes to Foster’s first of three pillars.

“I mean, it’d mean a lot,” Oladejo said. “So, we gotta, we have to show it. We gotta keep improving. Yeah, we need a clean game.”

Among the Bulldogs’ strengths is a team passing efficiency defense rating (108.93) that ranks ninth nationally. Opponents have thrown 17 touchdowns to 14 interceptions this season.

Fresno State cornerback Cam Lockridge leads the team with five interceptions and linebacker Tuasivi Nomura, a local product who attended Corona (Calif.) Centennial, has a team-high 90 tackles.

Overall, the Bulldogs own the nation’s 53rd-best total defense at 353.8 yards allowed per game.