UCLA football (2-4, 2-1 Big Ten) proved the team was not a one-hit wonder when it followed its upset of then-No. 7 Penn State with a 38-13 battering of Michigan State at Spartan Stadium on Oct. 11. UCLA can continue on its two-game win streak Saturday against Maryland (4-2, 1-2) at the Rose Bowl for UCLA’s annual homecoming game and the first home affair since the Penn State upset. The matchup marks the first time the two teams have met since 1955, when UCLA lost 7-0 in College Park, Maryland. Here are UCLA’s predictions from Sports editor Connor Dullinger, assistant Sports editor Willa Campion, assistant Sports editor Jacob Nguyen – along with a guest prediction from News editor Alexandra Crosnoe.
Connor Dullinger
Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 31, Maryland 24
I love a good story.
And the UCLA football team is crafting an Oscar-worthy script.
Despite its 4-2 record and a true freshman slinger under center, I refuse to believe that Maryland will be the hurdle that clips UCLA’s flying feet, causing the team to fall and spiral back down to reality.
The Bruins ignited the spark with their upset of the then-No. 7 Nittany Lions, and have since fed the flame with a defeat of the Spartans.
But a win over the Terrapins could be dry tinder for an eternal blaze.
A victory means that the Bruins will be on a three-game Big Ten winning streak heading into Memorial Stadium in Bloomington for what could be the amphitheater of a titan slaying.
[Related: Dully’s Drop: UCLA football changes to optimistic outlook, trajectory may carry facing Maryland]
Maryland’s defense is nothing to write home about, but UCLA’s offensive arsenal has scored 80 points across its last two contests.
In that stretch, redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava has contributed to eight touchdowns alongside zero turnovers.
Simultaneously, the running game has taken off for the first time since UCLA’s victory over Iowa in November 2024, registering back-to-back 200-plus rushing yard games.
While the Bruins’ defense may have its hands full with quarterback Malik Washington, the unit has stepped up its play the last two weeks, particularly when it held Michigan State to just 253 total offensive yards and 13 points.
A national story is brewing in Westwood, and it would be unjust for it to end as quickly as it started. But I doubt the Terrapins will be the crusher to the Bruins’ dreams.
I love a script, no one loves a story more than college sports.
Willa Campion
Assistant Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 27, Maryland 23
For the first time in my short tenure at UCLA, I’m excited to go to a football game.
While I went to a majority of last season’s matchups, by the time I had made the trek to the Rose Bowl and found a place to sit in the generally empty student section, the magic of college football game day had usually worn off.
It felt like a far cry from the Midwestern stadium environments my friends and family spoke of at Camp Randall, Memorial Stadium or the Big House.
But after UCLA’s historic upset over then-No. 7 Penn State – the first time an 0-4 squad beat a top 10 team since 1985 – and its following victory over a less competitive Michigan State, the Bruins feel like they are, for possibly the first time since joining the conference, living up to the hype of the Big Ten.
[Related: UCLA football claims first season win in matchup against No. 7 Penn State]
Interim head coach Tim Skipper called on students to “pack the Rose Bowl” ahead of Saturday’s game, and a reinvigorated Bruin fan base could give his squad the home-field advantage they need to best a strong Terrapin team.
Not only do the Terrapins’ defense lead the nation in turnover margin – forcing 12 interceptions through six games while their offense has only thrown two – but true freshman quarterback Malik Washington is one of only four Power Four quarterbacks since 2000 with over 200 passing yards in his first six career games.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava represents a strong opposing force to Washington, though. Iamaleava ran for over half of the team’s rushing yards against Penn State and, behind an offensive line that allowed just two sacks Saturday, threw for three touchdowns against Michigan State.
The last time UCLA faced off against Maryland, the former was ranked No. 1 in the nation. And while the Bruins’ losing record is a far cry from their 1950s dominance, when it comes to college football, it doesn’t matter how your season begins; it matters how it ends.
UCLA has the opportunity to continue its conference crusade with another win on Saturday, in what could define where they want their season to end.
For the first time, I’m excited to watch the storyline the Bruins are writing.
Jacob Nguyen
Assistant Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 24, Maryland 16
“I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stituous.”
The Office’s Michael Scott sums up my feelings about this game; I’m torn between wanting to fully buy into what I’ve seen in the Bruins’ last two matchups while also remaining conservative with my optimism.
While I’m optimistic for a third consecutive victory, how much do UCLA’s first four games still haunt me?
Were the coaches the only solution needed?
Truth be told, my confidence is a bit louder this weekend, and as nervous as I am to jinx it, Maryland may be a perfect cop out.
Despite the Terrapins’ 4-2 record, they’ve gone 1-2 against conference opponents, allowing over 840 total yards across their last two losses to the Huskies and the Huskers.
Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava has shown why he was the nation’s second-best recruit just two years ago. The Bruins are playing a team that doesn’t really move the needle defensively, neither on the ground nor in the air – Maryland allows over 200 passing yards and over 100 rushing yards per game, which may be perfect for the dual-threat signal caller.
Iamaleava has thrown nine touchdowns in 2025. Over half of those scores came in the last two weeks.
The signal caller’s renewed performance is paired with a potent run game that was dominant against Penn State and Michigan State. The quarterback ran for 128 yards Oct. 4, and the team ran for 238 yards at Spartan Stadium. With all that being said, I expect the Bruins’ budding offense to take advantage of a rather middling Terrapins defense.
[Related: Scouting report: UCLA football vs. Maryland]
I don’t doubt that UCLA is ascending.
But it’s taken heroic performances from the offense to do so, with Iamaleava and redshirt senior running back’s career-high three touchdowns against Michigan State.
If the Bruin defense can parallel its counterpart, especially after holding the Spartans to fewer than 300 total yards and 14 points, I can’t imagine why I shouldn’t be superstitious.
Alexandra Crosnoe
News editor
Prediction: UCLA 35, Maryland 17
I used to dread Saturdays.
Don’t get me wrong – I’ve been a college football fan my whole life.
There’s nothing like waking up on Saturday and turning on the TV to watch two teams of teenagers and twenty-somethings leave it all out on the field.
But since the Bruins began their 2025 campaign, it took a lot to watch what seemed like one crushing defeat after another.
Until two Saturdays ago.
Everything seemed to change during the Bruins’ Oct. 4 matchup against the then-No. 7 Nittany Lions.
The Bruins didn’t win 42-37 because of a weak performance from their opponents – UCLA looked like the team that every Bruin faithful hoped for this season. The squad was led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who finally resembled the player that started in Tennessee’s College Football Playoff first round game last year – passing for 166 yards and scoring five total touchdowns.
And in his play-calling debut, assistant head coach and tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel looked fresh, inspired and unafraid.
Gone were the days of Bruins across the world yelling at their televisions about questionable third-down play-calling – the Bruins converted 10 of 16 third downs in their Oct. 4 victory, a far cry from their season opener, in which they converted two of 11.
And as someone whose UCLA football experience has been marked by Chip Kelly’s indifference, the shaky start to the Fos Era and a season where some called UCLA the worst team in the NCAA, I worried that the Penn State victory could be a one-off – and that UCLA’s dreams would be dashed in East Lansing.
[Related: UCLA football garners another win in 38-13 game against Michigan State]
But the Bruins did just the opposite, crushing the Spartans 38-13 and proving that they’re much more than a one-hit wonder. The new look Bruins have the talent and spirit – combined with the proper coaching – to punch far above what we saw in the first four games of the season.
So, give us the Terrapins. The Bruins are ready.
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