This post was updated Sept. 29 at 2:28 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. – UCLA’s move to the Big Ten was described as a football move.
And despite years of mediocrity – or less – in the West Coast-based Pac-12, the Bruins left in search of greener pastures and TV dollars just over a year ago.
Though they may have forgotten to bring a football team.
In their first conference bout of 2025, the Bruins – despite second and third chances to turn the tide Saturday – found nothing but the dust that coats the Big Ten’s cellar.
Northwestern (2-2, 1-1 Big Ten) may have handed UCLA football (0-4, 0-1 Big Ten) its long-held title of conference laughingstock, when the Wildcats pushed past the Bruins 17-14 at Martin Stadium.
Just a field goal behind the opposition, the Bruins got the ball back with both 3:16 and 1:29 left in the fourth quarter. But both times, the Bruins could not put anything together – with the Wildcats’ sack of redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava with under a minute all but icing the game.
“It’s getting to a point where (I’m) repeating myself every week, ‘We got to fix it,’” Iamaleava said. “It’s on the players. It’s on our discipline.”
Little of the Bruins’ condition Saturday is meant to last long.
It was interim head coach Tim Skipper’s first contest at the helm, and the Wildcats’ Martin Stadium is not anticipated to host football games past 2026.
Add in the transfer portal rumors swirling around UCLA’s roster, with players still eligible to redshirt this season even with four games under their belt, the Bruins have little to count on – except that things can always get worse.
With two weeks since their last contest, thanks to a bye week, the Bruins installed a new defensive scheme under Skipper and senior defensive analyst Kevin Coyle in the wake of head coach DeShaun Foster’s firing and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe’s mutual departure from the program following UCLA’s loss to New Mexico on Sept. 12.
The changes did little to stymie opposing offenses when it mattered most.
The Wildcats scored on all three of their first-half drives – a field goal followed by two touchdowns – and beat the Bruins on total offense 212-154 and rushing yards 108-67 through Saturday’s first 30 minutes.
“We need to start a lot better. That first 30 minutes, we kind of spotted them some points and some plays,” Skipper said. “Just wish, man, we had played the first half better because I think it would have been a different outcome.”
Despite receiving Saturday’s kickoff, the Bruins again found themselves trailing to begin a game and have yet to lead all season. And just as it did in UCLA’s three previous games, it only got worse, with the team trailing by 17 before junior kicker Mateen Bhaghani’s last-second field goal closed out the half.
In fact, through three quarters, Bhaghani’s leg was the only thing consistently putting up points for the Bruins – with the second-year Bruin sinking a second field goal with 2:51 in the third.
Iamaleava’s legs appeared to do their best to keep the Bruins alive, however. The quarterback led the team in rushing yards for the third time with 65 yards on 14 attempts Saturday. UCLA’s running backs combined for just 66 yards.
Skipper said the Bruins chose to prioritize quarterback runs after seeing the Wildcats struggle against them on film. While the coach added that Iamaleava likes initializing contact and running the ball, Skipper said UCLA’s opponent will ultimately dictate how he uses his backfield.
And the signal-caller’s arm finished 19-for-27 on pass attempts for 180 yards and a touchdown, but again, it was not enough. Iamaleava had just seven passes for more than 10 yards, with only one for more than 20.
After six straight completions in the third, an end-zone pass to sophomore wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer that could have made it a one-score game was broken up by Ore Adeyi. And even after Iamaleava did find Gilmer with a 29-yard touchdown pass in the fourth, the former five-star transfer couldn’t dig the Bruins out of the mud on either of the team’s final two possessions.
Redshirt sophomore Rico Flores Jr.’s return proved one of few Bruin bright spots Saturday, with the wide receiver reeling in 43 yards on a team-leading four receptions in his first game since a year ago due to injury.
“It was great having Rico back,” Iamaleava said. “He’s a big-time playmaker for us, and I’m excited he’s back with us.”
Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone finished 12-for-18 for his highest completion percentage against an FBS team. Running back Caleb Komolafe rushed for a career-best 119 yards, with fellow back Joseph Himon II adding in 58. And wide receiver Griffin Wilde finished two yards shy of triple digits in receiving.
Meanwhile, UCLA’s penalty issues continued, with the team surrendering 60 free yards on six penalties to Northwestern’s 20 on two.
To Coyle and the Bruin defense’s credit, they held the Wildcats scoreless in the second half with back-to-back stops that included a blocked field goal by redshirt sophomore defensive back Rodrick Pleasant.
“Just trying to make a play,” Pleasant said. “We obviously did execute a lot better. … Proud of the guys. … We played hard and played well.”
But with nary a lead to protect, it didn’t matter.
“It stings,” Skipper said. “It really does sting.”
