One wrong call can flip everything in a tight game. No one knows that sting better than Nico Iamaleava after UCLA clashed with Nebraska. The Bruins fell behind 28-7 early in the third quarter and, despite cutting the deficit late, they ran out of time, losing 28-21 at the Rose Bowl. But that scramble from the Bruins QB is what made the game lean towards the Cornhuskers. It all went down when the home team had to grind through 17 plays.

While rewatching it, Iamaleava was fast enough to admit his wrong read during post-game. “They sent the corner crash, and he mesh charged it, and at that point, it was the best play to do,” Iamaleava said. They were chewing up nearly ten minutes of clock time between the first and second quarters, thanks to a couple of clutch third-down scrambles from the QB. But on their next drive, things didn’t go as smoothly.

After nine plays, the Bruins went for it on 4th-and-one, but Nebraska’s defense stuffed Iamaleava two yards behind the line on a read option, ending the drive right there. “I should have just given him in and let my running backs get that one yard. That one’s on me. I’ve got to play better in that aspect.” In this case, Iamaleava misread the defender. Nebraska’s edge defender, DeShon Singleton, stayed home instead of crashing toward the running back. At that point, the correct move would’ve been to hand the ball off. Instead, Iamaleava kept it, trying to cut outside.

But Singleton was waiting on the other end. He was tackled two yards behind the line, turning what could’ve been a short first down into a turnover on downs. Nebraska’s offense took over at its own 42 and marched right down the field for a touchdown to go up 21-7. There was another instance where the Bruins QB failed to connect.

Later in the third, on third-and-9, the senior safety read Nico Iamaleava perfectly, beat him to the edge, and swatted the ball away. Singleton was everywhere. He racked up 11 tackles, a tackle for loss, a QB hurry, and a pass breakup to cap off a huge game. The Bruins’ coach, Tim Skipper, expressed the same frustration.

“We had it. Nico pulled it cause he thought he had the pull read,” Skipper stated. “But when you watch it on the iPad, we just had it. We got it pretty easy.”  All season long, Nico Iamaleava has worn the cape for UCLA. The Nebraska game was just another night with the 21-year-old in superhero mode.

He threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns, plus scrambled for a team-best 86 yards on the ground. It’s his second-highest run record this season. The offensive line has been shaky, and the run game inconsistent, so it’s all on Nico Iamaleava to create.

He even pulled UCLA within seven late in the fourth with a big TD pass to Anthony Frias II. But the problem remained that he never got enough help from his defense or a reliable rushing attack. Adding an extra layer to that, the Huskers didn’t make his life any easier.

Nico Iamaleava’s efforts were not enough against the Cornhuskers duo

The Bruins had no answer for the running back Emmett Johnson and quarterback TJ Lateef, powering Nebraska to the program’s first win in Pasadena since 1993. Apart from Nico Iamaleava, the team rushed for just 71 yards. Meanwhile, Johnson, who already had more than 1,000 rushing yards entering Saturday’s contest, ended the affair with 129 yards on the ground, 103 through the air, and three total touchdowns. This even earned the RB special praise from the UCLA coach.

“He’s a special, special player,” Skipper said. “Most of our game plan was trying to limit him. … Then for their quarterback to come out here, first start, almost perfect – you tip your hat to that kid.” The duo continued their dominance. Lateef threw a 56-yard passing touchdown to Johnson on a screen and another 40-yard touchdown to the tailback on a wheel-route lob.

The QB, a Compton, California, local making his first collegiate start over injured Dylan Raiola, made his impression. Lateef completed 13 of his 15 passes for 205 yards through the air and 31 on the ground. That’s why Iamaleava’s efforts were not enough to power the Bruins to another victory.