Who: UCLA (1-1) at No. 16 LSU (2-1)

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

Where: Tiger Stadium | Baton Rouge, La.

TV: ABC

Last meeting: 38-27 UCLA (Sept. 4, 2021)

All-time series: UCLA leads 1-0

The UCLA football team begins its toughest stretch of the season Saturday, kicking off a gauntlet of ranked opponents in a road meeting with No. 16 Louisiana State.

It will be the first of three consecutive games against programs ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, and Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge is widely considered the nation’s toughest environment for opposing teams.

“These are the games you come to college for. I told them: ‘You don’t really get these type of atmospheres in the NFL,’” Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster said. “When you go to college stadiums, fans are gonna be rowdy, it’s gonna be exciting. But if you want to play big-time ball, this is a great opportunity to do that. We’re going down to LSU and Death Valley, and I think our guys are gonna be pretty pumped up to play there.”

UCLA is looking to bounce back from last weekend’s 42-13 loss to Indiana.

The Tigers nearly suffered their own letdown last week before erasing a 17-point deficit and rallying for a last-minute 36-33 win at South Carolina.

Here’s what to watch for:

The Bruins are looking to ignite an offense that has run five total plays on the opening possession through two games.

Last week, quarterback Ethan Garbers fumbled the first snap and UCLA quickly found itself in a 21-0 hole before getting on the board.

Both Foster and offensive coordinator/associate head coach Eric Bieniemy have stressed that a better start begins with their players’ ability to settle down.

“My job is to teach these kids that they have to remain calm and understand, if I mess up something, it’s OK; we’ve still got 59 minutes to play,” Bieniemy said. “So we can overcome any adverse situation, but we’ve got to make sure that we eliminate as many of those little things as possible.”

While Foster said the struggles don’t all fall on one player, the Bruins could use more their fifth-year senior.

In addition to the fumble, Garbers has three interceptions — already equaling his total from last season.

Garbers has completed just 33 of 61 pass attempts (54.1%) and the early struggles have been more pronounced in the red zone. In seven chances, the Bruins have just one rushing touchdown to go with five made field goals.

“We didn't execute out there like we need to and like we should,” Garbers said after the loss to the Hoosiers.

A big reason why the Bruins have averaged just 14.5 points per game is an inability to consistently involve their top playmakers.

Wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant was held without a catch for the first time in 27 games dating back to his time at California. Notre Dame transfer Rico Flores Jr., who caught Garbers’ lone touchdown in the season opener, had just two catches for 31 yards against Indiana.

In all, 12 of Garbers’ 23 targets went to running backs or tight ends. The Bruins averaged just 5.9 yards per pass attempt in the contest.

“Obviously when you see the backs catching that many balls, obviously things are being taken away downfield and other guys have got to play. We’re playing complementary ball,” Bieniemy said. “At times, we show spurts that we can be a good, productive offense.

“A lot of times, we just didn’t do our part. I would like to see us line up to play against the opponent on a consistent basis without stubbing ourselves in the foot and not doing it where we’re actually taught and coached and conducted to do. I’ve seen them do it right out here on the practice field. Now, we’ve just to make sure that that’s translating on game day.”

Reserve defensive tackle Sitiveni Havili Kaufusi said the Bruins are looking to internalize the sting of last week’s blowout loss.

“Any time you get that feeling, it’s using that for a positive way,” Havili Kaufusi said. “And I think our team can do that, but it’s just reminding each other, being positive and uplifting each other.”

If the Bruins are going to bounce back after allowing nine conversions on 12 third-down attempts, however, then they will likely have to do it at less than full strength.

Defensive tackles Jay Toia and Keanu Williams, linebacker Ale Kaho and cornerback Kanye Clark all were held out of the last practice open to media Wednesday.

Clark and Williams both left the game against Indiana with lower body injuries.

If UCLA is without its starting interior linemen, then the challenge of generating pressure becomes that much more difficult after failing to record a sack against Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who tossed four touchdowns without an interception.

If there’s an area that UCLA could possibly exploit, it’s the LSU run defense.

The Tigers have allowed 154 yards rushing per game and eight touchdowns on the ground.

The Bruins have mostly struggled to establish the run behind a work-in-progress offensive line that negated what would have been a 29-yard touchdown from T.J. Harden in the second half against Indiana.

Harden is averaging just 2.7 yards per carry on 21 attempts.

“All of us as group have just gotta do a better job of just finishing runs, lining in the right places, at the right times, and just locking in every little detail,” Harden said.

The Bruins’ defense will look to contain Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, whose 10 passing touchdowns is tied for second-most in the nation.

Nussmeier has completed 81 of 116 attempts (69.8%) for 895 yards with two interceptions.

Defensively, LSU has a young group with as many as seven freshmen and sophomores playing significant snaps.

Last week, the Tigers made nine tackles for loss, including five sacks, recovered two of four forced fumbles and collected a pair of interceptions against South Carolina.

LSU allowed just 43 yards passing in the second half.

Tigers senior defensive end Bradyn Swinson had a career-high three sacks and forced a fumble to earn SEC defensive player of the week honors.

“The (LSU) D-line is special,” Foster said.