UCLA football (3-6, 3-3 Big Ten) looked to turn its season around after winning three consecutive games despite starting the season 0-4. But, after falling in back-to-back affairs – including a 50-point loss to No. 2 Indiana – the Bruins’ 2025 campaign is on the brink of collapsing. And UCLA’s next challenge – the game that will determine if the squad is in or out of playoff content – will be the top team in the nation: No. 1 Ohio State (9-0, 6-0). Here are UCLA’s week 12 predictions from Sports editor Connor Dullinger and senior staffer Kai Dizon – along with a guest prediction from assistant Photo editor Aidan Sun.
Connor Dullinger
Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 16 vs. Ohio State 63
UCLA’s version of “Rudy” is unfurling right in front of everyone.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava – the Bruins’ lone saving grace and probably their highest draft pick next season – was ruled out with concussion symptoms before what is most likely UCLA’s biggest game of the year.
A matchup against the No. 1 Buckeyes.
A night game at “The Shoe” featuring an Ohio Stadium full of 102,780 screaming Buckeyes clad in scarlet and gray.
All while bowl game aspirations – and eligibility – hang in the balance.
And yet the Bruins’ hero will have to be redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Duncan – who has yet to register a single career start – making a script that even Steven Spielberg would die to get his hands on.
But Saturday evening will not feature the inspirational story and fight against adversity that Rudy Ruettiger embodied for the Fighting Irish.
It will be a horror film more akin to something from Stephen King.
The most frightening part of the contest is not wide receiver Jeremiah Smith or quarterback Julian Sayin, and it’s not one of the most hostile college football environments in the country. The scariest part of Saturday’s clash will most likely be the scoreboard.
In Saturday’s primetime contest, the game will likely be over in the first quarter at the latest and could very well be concluded before UCLA even walks into the confines of the Buckeyes’ playground.
Expect Ohio State to come out fast, hard and strong – and don’t expect them to take the foot off the gas pedal.
And please don’t have any hope for the Bruins.
The Bruins’ season – and their three-game magical stretch – will die tonight, and it won’t be ceremonial or full-circle. It’ll be long and ugly.
Kai Dizon
Daily Bruin senior staff
Prediction: UCLA 22, Ohio State 21
I had my whole prediction written Thursday evening.
I came out all optimistic about how Nico Iamaleava’s dual-threat capabilities and prior experience facing the Buckeyes were going to give the Bruins the slimmest of chances.
But Friday night the redshirt sophomore quarterback was reportedly ruled out, and, in his place, fellow redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan would be getting the nod – his first collegiate start.
Naturally, you might expect me to realize the inexperienced and pocket-passing Duncan is going to get eaten alive and the Bruins are going to get beaten to a pulp – maybe even to the degree of Georgia Tech’s 222-0 pummeling of Cumberland more than 100 years ago.
But I’ve found a new strand of hope to cling to.
One, if there’s anyone on the Bruins’ staff that could prep the backup quarterback for his first collegiate start, it’s assistant head coach and tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel – UCLA’s offensive play-caller and formerly a backup quarterback who led UCLA to a 20-17 win over Texas.
Two UCLA wins this season – whether against Penn State, Michigan State or Maryland – relied on the element of surprise.
Expectations were low when the 0-4 Bruins – with an interim head coach, interim defensive playcaller and a newly promoted Neuheisel – faced the then-top-10 Nittany Lions.
Then, with eyes turned to Iamaleava against Michigan State, UCLA’s running backs combined for 235 yards on the ground.
And against the Terrapins, no one expected Iamaleava to come out for the Bruins’ game-winning drive after being helped off the field just a possession prior.
No one knows what to expect from Duncan. I’d bet 99.9% of the people tuning in to NBC on Saturday won’t have ever heard of him – but maybe that’s to UCLA’s advantage.
Aidan Sun
Assistant Photo editor
Prediction: UCLA 13, Ohio State 48
I predicted that UCLA would upset No. 2 Indiana last month, only to be immediately humbled when Iamaleava threw an opening drive pick-six.
Then, a brutal loss against Nebraska signified that the Bruins’ three-game win streak may have been a fluke after all.
While UCLA is undeniably playing better than it did during the first four games of the season, this team is far from the bowl contenders many hoped they could be if the wins kept coming.
Do miracles happen? Sure. One happened against Penn State.
But “The Shoe” in prime time is where miracles go to die.
Ohio State has not lost at home to a team not named Michigan since week 2 of 2021 against Oregon.
Furthermore, the Buckeyes have not dropped a regular-season game to anyone besides Michigan or Oregon since a 2018 loss to Purdue.
UCLA walks into Ohio Stadium facing perhaps the most complete roster in all of college football – one overflowing with first-round NFL talent and bona fide household names.
Jeremiah Smith. Carnell Tate. Caleb Downs. Arvell Reese. Sonny Styles.
You will hear these names on Sundays for the next decade.
I cannot say the same for the journeymen filling UCLA’s depth chart.
A loss on Saturday will seal UCLA’s fate: yet another losing season.
But more than that, this game represents a harsh reminder of where UCLA stands in the Big Ten hierarchy – and where it fails to meet the demands of the modern game.
The Bruins aren’t just outmatched. They are outbuilt, outfunded and outcoached.
If UCLA wants to have a chance to one day make a run in this conference, it is the Goliaths such as Ohio State they have to overcome
Right now, the Bruins are not even close.
Maybe UCLA steals a moment or two. Maybe the defense forces a fluke turnover or Duncan uncorks a highlight throw that briefly quiets the 100,000 scarlet-clad fans.
But moments and miracles are not enough in a conference like this.
UCLA can’t win this game.
The Bruins can only survive it and hope that – someday – the lessons learned in Columbus, Ohio, and Bloomington, Indiana, become a blueprint for the rebirth of UCLA football.
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