MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

Pasadena – Coming off their bye week, it was the annual Veterans & Armed Forces game Saturday night when the UCLA Bruins hosted Nebraska at Spieker Field at Rose Bowl Stadium, and after starting the contest slowly, UCLA played catch-up and ultimately fell to the Cornhuskers 28-21 in front of a split audience of 44,481. 

Right out of the gate, on their first possession of their Big Ten matchup, the Bruins’ drive started and ended without any offensive momentum. Following a 1-yard carry by Jaivian Thomas, there was a completed pass from Iamaleava to Rico Flores Jr. for four short yards. Then, after Kwazi Gilmer could not haul in the deep pass, the offense was off the field less than two minutes into the game. 

Then, when the Cornhuskers’ offense took the field, without quarterback Dylan Raiola due to a season-ending leg injury, they did not miss a beat on their first drive, shredding the Burin defense with their ground game. TJ Lateef, who replaced Raiola at quarterback, and Emmett Johnson combined for 43 yards on seven carries, which was then capped off by Lateef when he executed the RPO by connecting with Jacory Barney Jr. for the touchdown in the opening minutes of the contest.

On UCLA’s second possession of the game, the Bruins slowly woke up as they made their way down the field, which took 17 plays, 75 yards, and almost 10 minutes off the clock. Iamaleava completed 3-4 passes for 26 yards and also rushed for 33 yards, including converting a 4th and one at the Nebraska 4-line. After the conversion, Jalen Burger capped the drive off when he took the direct snap and pushed his way into the endzone, tying the ball game at seven at the start of the second quarter. 

The tie score did not last long on the ensuing possession when the Cornhuskers’ offense took the field. After back-to-back completions of nine and seven yards, Lateef completed his pass to the left side of the field to Johnson, who then took it 56 yards to the house at the 11:01 mark of the second quarter. 

On both sides of the ball, the Burins struggled to keep up with Nebraska after Lateef’s second touchdown pass of the night. The offense turned the ball over on downs after the score, and then, when the Cornhuskers retained possession, Johnson punched in his first rushing score of the night with 4:31 remaining in the first half. 

UCLA did have one last attempt to score, and for most of the drive, Iamaleava carried the offense down the field with his legs. However, once they crossed midfield, the drive stalled, and Mateen Bhaghani’s 49-yard field goal attempt was wide left, keeping the score at 21-7 before the halftime whistle. 

Following the break, the Burin defense continued to toil after the break by allowing Lateef to keep his 100% completion rate when he dropped back to pass to find Johnson alone for the touchdown, increasing the margin to 28-7. 

UCLA did manage to swing back on their next series, making it a two-possession game after Iamaleava tossed his first touchdown pass of the night. On 2nd and 18 from the Nebraska 45, Iamaleava connected with Anthony Woods to the left, who then outran the defense for the 45-yard TD with 9:58 remaining in the third quarter. 

The Bruin defense also started to show signs of life when it contained Lateef, who finished 13-15 passing for 205 yards and three scores, and the Cornhusker ground attack, forcing them to punt for the remainder of the game. 

Since the defense was getting stops, Iamaleava and the offense made it a one-possession game with less than five minutes to play in regulation. Starting the drive on the 4-yard line, Iamaleava accumulated 77 out of the 96 yards that resulted in a touchdown when his pass to Anthony Frias II reached paydirt. 

The Burins just needed one more stop to try to force overtime, but unfortunately, when the team needed to get a stop on 2nd and 3, Lateef threw a dart to Nyziah Hunter for a 17-yard completion, resulting in a first down. And with no timeouts left for interim head coach Tim Skipper, the Burins fall to 3-6 on the year and 3-3 in the Big Ten. 

They will travel to Ohio, where the Buckeyes of Ohio State await.