By Rich Whittington
(Pasadena) – The UCLA Bruins could not earn their first victory of the 2025 football season, losing to the visiting New Mexico Lobos 35-10 Friday evening in front of an announced attendance of 31,163 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
The Lobos opened the evening’s scoring courtesy of a 1-yard run by Scottre Humphrey. The extra point was added by Luke Drzewiecki, making the score 7-0 with 3:10 remaining in the opening quarter.
New Mexico added to their lead early in the second period when Jack Layne connected with Simon Mapa for a 3-yard score. Another Drzewiecki kick made the score 14-0 with 12:43 remaining in the opening half.
A few minutes later Nico Iameleava connected with Titus Mokiao-Atimalala for a 12-yard touchdown. The PAT was added by Mateen Bhaghani, making the score 14-7 with 9:12 remaining on the clock.
The UCLA defense made an impressive stand in the waning moments of the first half, denying the Lobos a scoring opportunity on successive plays from the UCLA three-yard line. This preserved the score at 14-7 as the first half ended.
UCLA’s woes continued into the second half. After receiving the kickoff, the Bruins went three and out, only running 20 seconds off the clock. The Lobos marched down the field but were again turned away when New Mexico fumbled. The recovery was made by Devin Aupio giving the Bruins the ball on their own 3-yard line. The Bruins again went three and out but recovered the muffed punt giving UCLA the ball on its own 41-yard line.
UCLA moved the ball and scored on a successful 51-yard field goal by Mateen Bhaghani. This brought the Bruins within four, 14-10, with 3:34 remaining in the third quarter.
The final quarter began with New Mexico again driving into Bruin territory. The Lobos put together a 13 play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a 2-yard run by Damon Bankston. A third Drzewiecki extra point made the score 21-10 with 10:42 remaining in the contest.
UCLA was unable to capitalize on the subsequent kickoff, turning the ball over on downs with 9:01 left on the clock. New Mexico scored again when Layne connected with Bankston for a 43-yard catch and run to make it 28-10 with 7:06 left.
UCLA had one final opportunity, which ended when Iameleava’s pass was intercepted by Lobo safety Tavian Combs. This gave the Lobos the ball on their own 26-yard line with 3:52 remaining in the game.
New Mexico drove into the red zone and scored on a 3-yard run by D.J. McKinney with 36 seconds left on the clock.
Next up for the Bruins is a trip to Evanston, Illinois, where UCLA will meet Northwestern next Saturday. Game time will be announced later.
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Who needs to be let go the most at this moment: De Shaun Foster or Montebello’s Pete Gonzales? Keep this up and there will be an attendance of 31 instead of 31,000 at these games.