UCLA football (0-2) failed to eclipse a 23-point second-quarter deficit, falling 30-23 to UNLV on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins are now 0-2 to start the season for the first time since 2019. Daily Bruin Sports staff writer Noah Massey gives his five main takeaways from the Bruins’ first-ever loss to the Rebels.
So close…
The Bruins were dominated out of the gates for the second consecutive contest.
In UCLA’s two games, it has been outscored 46-10 by its opponents in the first half.
While the Bruins failed to create any momentum against Utah, they forced themselves back into the game against the Rebels, scoring on four consecutive drives and limiting the Rebels to a single second-half score.
UCLA was just 24 yards away from tying the contest when redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s pass was deflected, leading to an interception by UNLV defensive back Aamaris Brown, which put the nail in the coffin.
While the Bruins looked lost for six consecutive quarters to start the season, their play in the second half revealed that this year’s squad could win some games – but they will have to prove it for a whole game, not just one half.
At the same time, do not let second-half heroics distract from the big picture.
Yet so far.
The first half was bad.
Really bad.
UNLV’s offense averaged 7.7 yards per play and scored on every single drive.
Rebels quarterback Anthony Colandrea completed 12 of his 14 first-half passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, dominating UCLA’s pass defense.
On the other side of the ball, the Bruin offense managed just six first downs in the entire first half.
If not for a 46-yard drive that culminated in a field goal in the final two minutes, the Bruins would have had just 66 total first-half yards.
While UNLV is no easy opponent – going 11-3 last season and already 3-0 to start the 2025 campaign – its first-half defensive dominance against UCLA was unprecedented. Prior opponents Sam Houston and Idaho State put up a better fight against the Rebels’ defense. In fact, Idaho State was actually winning 17-14 at halftime.
Idaho State is an FCS school. Sam Houston is in its third year in the FBS.
UCLA has an immense athletic budget, a storied history and is a member of the prestigious Big Ten conference.
It should not be outperformed by these schools.
Speaking of the Big Ten, UCLA will play No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Penn State in conference play later this year.
The Bruins need to figure things out by then, or it could get uglier.
Struggles in important moments
The result of a football game can come down to just a few key plays.
Despite their first-half struggles, the Bruins could have emerged victorious if they had executed when it mattered most.
The Bruins were 3-of-13 on third down attempts and scored a touchdown on just one of their four red zone opportunities.
To make matters worse, they were painfully close to scoring on two of those chances.
In the third quarter, UCLA had a first down on the one-yard line.
After redshirt senior running back Jalen Berger was stuffed on back-to-back runs, an offensive pass interference call nullified a touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer, forcing the Bruins to settle for a field goal.
And, in the fourth quarter, another opportunity slipped through UCLA’s grasp.
Iamaleava overthrew wide-open redshirt junior tight end Jack Pedersen in the end zone when the Bruins were just 15 yards from the goal line.
If either of those drives resulted in touchdowns, UCLA would have only needed a field goal on its final drive.
And when Iamaleava threw the game-sealing interception, the Bruins were already well within junior kicker Mateen Bhaghani’s range.
Iamaleava improvement
Though he had a couple of vital miscues to end the game, Iamaleava was the driving force behind the Bruins’ late-game comeback attempt.
He threw 41 passes – the most of his career – while accumulating 255 yards and a touchdown through the air. He also ran the ball 11 times for 59 yards and another touchdown on the ground.
In the fourth quarter, Bruin running backs only carried the ball twice.
Iamaleava was involved in every other offensive play, including a 30-yard touchdown run that kept the Bruins within two scores of the Rebels.
Following a Utah game where he only completed half of his passes and found his wide receiver targets just five times, Iamaleava found his receivers 18 times on 26 attempts.
Leading the way for the wide receivers was the tandem of junior Mikey Matthews and Gilmer, who combined for 13 catches and 121 yards.
Iamaleava was not perfect by any means.
But he found his first success as a Bruin in the second half after a rocky start.
That is progress, and that is all you can hope for.
Though he still needs to show more consistency and improvement against better defenses to begin living up to his price tag and pedigree, Iamaleava took an important first step Saturday toward future success in the blue and gold.
Defensive flop
There is very little to celebrate with the Bruin defense.
For the second consecutive week, the unit was dominated through the air and on the ground.
UNLV completed 71% of its passes for 203 total yards while averaging five yards per carry on the ground.
In two games, the UCLA defense has forced zero combined turnovers and stopped the opposing team from scoring points on just four drives while allowing 10 touchdowns.
Yikes.
To be fair, the Bruins had three crucial stops in the second half against the Rebels that allowed the offense to bring the team back into the game.
But, it had already allowed UNLV to dominate time of possession and find the end zone three times in the first half – forcing the Bruins to dig themselves out of a deep hole.
The unit has undergone massive changes in the offseason and lost numerous key players to the NFL Draft while bringing in a plethora of new faces to fill the ranks. There are still reasons to believe this unit can gel and find success.
After two games of poor performance by both the air defense and rush defense, this squad has a ways to go to prove that it can hang with some of the best of the best – the star-studded units of the Big Ten.
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