MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

Pasadena – With back-to-back wins under interim head coach Tim Skipper, and looking to make it three in a row, the Bruins of UCLA took on the visiting Maryland Terrapins for their Homecoming game Saturday night at Spieker Field at the Rose Bowl. 

And by scoring 10 points in the final five minutes of play, including the game-winning field goal with one second remaining by Mateen Bhaghani,  the Bruins made it three in a row after they defeated the Terps 20-17 in front of a raucous 35,561 fans in attendance.   

Since taking over at play-calling duties, Jerry Neuheisel has ignited a Bruins (2-4, 2-1 Big Ten) offense that has averaged 40 points in the last two games, including dropping 42 two weeks ago against Penn St. 

But Saturday’s contest against the Terrapins (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) was a different story as the team only reached paydirt once in the first half and for the 25 minutes of the second half as both teams traded field position via punt. 

Then, at the 5:39 mark of the fourth quarter, the offense found a groove on a warm Saturday night by opening the passing game with Iamaleava, who went 21 for 35 passing for 221 yards, dropping back to pass on six consecutive plays. After his completed pass up the middle to Kwazi Gilmer for 16 yards, and two Jalen Berger rushes for six yards, Iamaleava was able to give the Bruins the lead after he connected with Mikey Matthews for the 14-yard touchdown pass. 

The defense then gave the ball back to the Burins less than 30 seconds later when Kaleb Webb could not haul in Malik Washington’s pass and was picked off by Scooter Jackson at the Maryland 20-yard line. 

The offense did not add a second consecutive touchdown, but they did the next best thing when they elected to have Bhaghani, who had missed an earlier attempt from 56 yards, to kick the 42-yard field goal before the two-minute warning. With the kick sailing through the uprights, UCLA took a 17-10 lead. 

Washington was able to shake off the interception from the previous series by leading his team down the field to tie the ball game up at 17. Washington, who ended the night with 23-48 passing for 210 yards, used both his legs and arm to methodically take his team down the field and chew up 1:19 off the game clock. His 8-yard pass to the left to Jalil Fraooq tied the game with 40 seconds left in regulation. 

UCLA then started its game-winning drive at its 27-yard line with 35 seconds left in the quarter. Imaleava went 2-3 passing for 33 yards after both of his passes for 14 and 19 were received by Titus Mokiao-Atimalala. Then, with the ball placed on the Maryland 40, Anthony Frias II took the handoff and rushed up the middle for a 35-yard gain, setting up Bhaghani for the game-winning kick at the Terripan 5-yard line.

There was still one second left on the clock after Bhaghani gave the Bruins a 20-17 lead, but once Maryland received the kickoff, they tried to lateral their way to the endzone, which failed as time expired.  

Both teams struggled to put points on the board through the first half. In fact, there was no scoring at all until the second quarter, when Maryland put up three points as the second quarter started. 

With the ball placed deep into their own 6-yard line, the Terrapins compiled a 17-play drive that covered 88 yards in the process. Washington led the Terps, staying perfect on third down and advancing the team to the red zone. But after going backward on back-to-back rushing attempts by DeJuan Williams, Sean O’Haire booted a 24-yard field goal, giving his team the lead.

That lead was quickly erased once the Bruins took back possession on their next series, as they only needed four plays to take a 7-3 lead. After a completed pass from Imaleava to Mokiao-Atimalala for 9 yards, Frias II took the handoff, made a cut to the wide side of the field, and darted to the endzone for the 55-yard TD run. 

Both offenses then went on a drought as they could not generate any production. They exchanged punts on four consecutive drives throughout the second quarter. 

Then, when the Terps started to generate offensive production at the 2:54 mark of the second quarter, behind running back Williams’ two carries for 23 yards, Isaiah Chisom forced Williams to fumble the ball at the UCLA 32, which JonJon Vaighns recovered. 

UCLA, however, could not capitalize on the turnover due to Imaleava’s pass getting picked off by Jalen Huskey at the Maryland 8-yard line with 56 seconds left in the first half. Maryland was able to work its way down the field, but as time expired, Washington’s deep pass to the endzone fell incomplete, keeping the Bruins 7-3 intact at the break.  

After both offenses continued to trade punts throughout the start of the second half, Maryland regained the lead at the 4:40 mark of the third quarter when Jamare Glasker jumped Gilmer’s out route and picked off Imaleava’s pass and returned it for the score, making it 10-7. 

From there, UCLA found its offensive groove, which led it to outscore Maryland 10-7 in the final 3:33 minutes of play. 

With the win, UCLA will travel to Indiana next week, where the No. 3 Hoosiers will be waiting for them. Maryland will try to end their three-game losing streak on Nov. 1 when it hosts Indiana.