UCLA prepares for Nebraska after injury to Cornhuskers QB Dylan Raiola
In the course of one weekend, UCLA’s defensive plans changed for its upcoming contest against Nebraska at the Rose Bowl. The Cornhuskers will be without sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola, who suffered a season-ending right leg injury against then-No. 23 USC.
Raiola was hurt while getting sacked in the third quarter of this past Saturday’s 21-17 loss. The Cornhuskers were leading 14-6 at the time of the injury.
It was the second loss in three weeks for bowl-eligible Nebraska.
“That’s definitely going to change some things,” UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper said Monday in his weekly Zoom conference call with the media.
This season, Raiola completed 72.4% of his pass attempts for 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns with six interceptions.
Bruins to face QB TJ Lateef
For the second consecutive season, UCLA will now see another Nebraska freshman quarterback. Last season, the Bruins left Lincoln, Neb., with a 27-20 win over Raiola and the Cornhuskers.
Lateef completed 5 of 7 passes for 7 yards in relief of Raiola against the Trojans. For the season, he is 16-of-19 passing for 261 yards and a touchdown without an interception in three appearances.
Now, Lateef will prepare for his first career collegiate start.
“We know we’re going to get some unscouted looks, unscouted plays,” Skipper said. “He has a strong arm and he can run.”
Nebraska senior Jalyn Gramstad will likely be Lateef’s backup.
Homecoming for local product
In an alternate universe, UCLA may have been preparing for a different freshman.
Lateef and UCLA quarterback Madden Iamaleava were both four-star recruits ranked among the nation’s top 25 quarterbacks in the 2025 class. Lateef was ranked 23rd, with Iamaleava directly behind him.
It was a similar story in rankings among all 2025 recruits in California. Lateef, who played at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran, was rated 29th.
Iamaleava, who played just one game at Downey (Calif.) Warren and was ruled ineligible for the remainder of his senior season after attempting to transfer to Long Beach Poly, was still slotted 30th.
Iamaleava had UCLA and Nebraska among his finalists, as he and Lateef made their college choices weeks apart last May. It was just a more roundabout path to Westwood for Iamaleava, who flipped to Arkansas on signing day and enrolled in the spring before deciding in April to transfer to UCLA and join his brother, Bruins starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
