This post was updated Nov. 9 at 1:27 a.m.
Nico Iamaleava has had to play Superman this season – with the Bruins relying on his arm, legs and leadership to power their three wins.
Saturday was no different.
Whether it should or shouldn’t be his responsibility, it was up to the redshirt sophomore quarterback to get his team back in the win column.
But Iamaleava couldn’t keep powering the 11-man offense on his own.
With running back Emmett Johnson and quarterback TJ Lateef powering Nebraska (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten), Iamaleava couldn’t match the duo’s production on his own, as UCLA football (4-6, 3-3) fell 28-21 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
“He played four quarters of ball,” said interim head coach Tim Skipper. “We were starting to get some momentum, but we just didn’t get the stop at the end.”
In a battle of two Southern California quarterbacks, Lateef – a Compton, California, local making his first collegiate start – completed 13 of his 15 passes for 205 yards through the air and 31 on the ground.
Meanwhile, UCLA’s signal caller – hailing from Long Beach, California – went 17-for-25 on passes for 191 yards through the air while rushing for 86 yards.
Iamaleava ran for 86 yards against the Cornhuskers, his second-highest rushing mark of the 2025 campaign. The signal-caller also threw for two passing touchdowns. (Aidan Sun/Assistant Photo editor)
But the rest of the Bruins rushed for just 71 yards. Meanwhile, Johnson – who already had more than 1,000 rushing yards entering Saturday’s contest – ended the affair with 129 yards on the ground, 103 through the air and three total touchdowns.
“He’s a special, special player,” Skipper said. “Most of our game plan was trying to limit him. … Then for their quarterback to come out here, first start, almost perfect – you tip your hat to that kid.”
The Huskers didn’t need any kryptonite with their quarterback-running-back tandem. They simply overpowered the Bruins.
Lateef threw a 56-yard passing touchdown to Johnson on a screen and another 40-yard touchdown to the tailback on a wheel-route lob.
Still, the Bruins kept calling on their prized field general, and Iamaleava kept answering.
Facing a 14-point deficit on a 2nd-and-nine with less than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Iamaleava put on his cape and scrambled for a 10-yard gain.
Two plays and a false start later, UCLA found itself at 3rd-and-11 before Iamaleava continued to save the day. The quarterback cut to his right, avoiding a rusher, before running back to the line, ultimately finding junior wide receiver Mikey Matthews for a 24-yard gain.
Iamaleava shouldered the offense again on 3rd-and-10 in the same drive, scrambling for 17 yards before redshirt senior running back Anthony Frias II reeled in the signal caller’s pass for a nine-yard touchdown the next play.
“They were rushing four a lot; they were dropping a lot of guys into our pass games, so they didn’t have a spy on Nico a lot,” Skipper said. “If he has running lanes, he definitely has the leeway to go get it. … It’s successful for us. It works. We’re going to use his legs all the time.”
UCLA dominated the time of possession through the first half by more than five and a half minutes, but only because Nebraska scored with ease. The Husker’s first three scoring drives took nine, four and nine plays, respectively.
“They (the Huskers) got off to a hot start,” said redshirt junior linebacker Jalen Woods, who recorded six tackles. “Preventing that – we just have to be on our keys in the beginning of the game.”
The Bruins needed 17 plays – draining 9:46 off the clock across the first and second quarter while requiring two third-down-converting Iamaleava scrambles – just to record their first seven points.
Their next possession ended after nine plays and a failed 4th-and-one conversion where Iamaleava was taken down two yards behind the line of scrimmage on a read option.
“Should have just gave it (the ball) and let my running back get that one yard,” Iamaleava said. “That one’s on me.”
UCLA got the ball back with 1:42 remaining in the first half and motored down to Nebraska’s 31-yard line on 12 plays. The squad recorded two third-down conversions – an 11-yard pass and the other and a 13-yard Iamaleava rush – before Bhaghani missed the 49-yard field goal attempt, just his fourth miss from within 50 yards on 33 attempts as a Bruin.
The Bruins again seemed to leave potential points on the field in the third.
UCLA ran a successful fake punt from its own 19-yard line with a direct snap to redshirt senior defensive lineman Jacob Busic. But the Bruins had to punt just two plays later after a 3rd-and-three became a 3rd-and-eight on redshirt junior center Sam Yoon’s false start, and the team couldn’t convert.
Busic took a direct snap on a fake punt attempt late in the third quarter on fourth-and-one Saturday night. (Aidan Sun/Assistant Photo editor)
The lone exception to the trend came with 10:07 left in the third. The Bruins imitated the Huskers’ offensive success with Iamaleava dumping the ball to redshirt junior running back Anthony Woods – who missed Oct. 25’s game against Indiana – for a 45-yard touchdown on a four-play drive.
The Bruins finally stopped Lateef and the Huskers on their sixth possession. Redshirt senior safety Key Lawrence slammed wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr. to the ground on a 3rd-and-five for a loss of one, forcing the Husker’s first punt of the night.
Nebraska again stalled in its seventh possession. Lateef recorded his first incompletion with 13:45 in the fourth quarter, and his next attempt rattled off his receiver’s hands. UCLA also held Johnson to a net two yards across his final two carries that drive, forcing a second-straight punt.
“I thought we got better in the second half, but it just wasn’t enough,” Skipper said. “We just didn’t hold up.”
UCLA and Nebraska ended even in time of possession, but Skipper added that it didn’t feel that way.
The Bruins ran out of time, with Frias’ touchdown-drive taking 12 plays and 6:39 off the clock. The Huskers zapped the remaining 4:47 in nine plays – the final three coming in victory formation.
“It felt close,” Iamaleava said. “I thought if we got one more stop, we’re going to go back down, score, go for two and try to win the game.”
With the loss, UCLA would need to sweep its final three games – against No. 1 Ohio State, No. 24 Washington and No. 20 USC – to avoid missing a bowl game for the second consecutive season.
“Keep fighting – it’s what we’re going to do,” Skipper said. “The sun is going to rise tomorrow.”
