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Nico Iamaleava describes the emotions of his first win at UCLA: 'This means everything to me'

Danby: Daniel Hager10/04/25DanielHagerOn3
Nico-Iamaleava-describes-the-emotions-of-his-first-win-at-UCLA-This-means-everything-to-me
via CBS

Nico Iamaleava earned his first win as UCLA‘s quarterback Saturday afternoon.

That win came at home against No. 7 Penn State, marking the first win for an 0-4 team against a team ranked in the top-10 of the AP Poll since 1985. Iamaleava was unbelievable in the massive upset, completing 17/24 passes for 166 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also led the Bruins in rushing with 128 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries.

The former Tennessee quarterback has been through a boatload of adversity since his transfer this offseason, as the Bruins opened the season with four consecutive losses. Those losses weren’t particularly close either, as they lost by an average of 17 points per game.

“Man we got a great win,” Iamaleava said. “Finally we were able to pull out a win. Man, the belief we had in eachother was still there even after a tough start. This means everything to me. We put a lot of week in for this game and we had to go out there and execute. We did a great job, but we let it get a little close at the end and we’ve got to finish better. But I’m proud of these guys.”

Iamaleava was masterful in upset of No. 7 Penn State

Penn State entered the game as three touchdown favorites fresh off its first loss of the season to Oregon last weekend. It however got punched right in the mouth by an Iamaleava 11-yard passing touchdown to wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer and a UCLA field goal. A Kaytron Allen 13-yard rushing score cut into the Bruins lead, but this didn’t stop them from scoring.

Now ahead just 10-7, Iamaleava found wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala in stride for a six-yard passing score and then found pay dirt with a 3-yard rushing score on the following possession to make it 24-7. They led 27-7 at the half and looked to be on their way to the monstrous upset.

James Franklin‘s Nittany Lions were able to outscore the Bruins 30-15 in the second half, but the first half deficit was just too much to overcome. Trailing by five, they got to the UCLA nine-yard line with 40 seconds remaining in regulation but quarterback Drew Allar was bottled up for a loss of three yards on a 4th & 2 QB keeper.

“Coach Tim (Skipper) came in and with everything going on around us, he told us to keep the belief in eachother. And man we did that. “From the beginning of the season looking towards now, we knew we were gonna be in some tough spots. This was just a big time game.”