With interim HC Tim Skipper at the helm, the Bruins have now mustered a 3-5 record this season. After a disappointing outing against Indiana, UCLA has to win against Nebraska in its week 11 clash on Saturday. However, to do that, it must address the issues from the Indiana game. For QB Nico Iamaleava, this means he will have to assume another responsibility.

After wins against Penn State, MI State, and Maryland, UCLA looked like a rejuvenated team under Tim Skipper. That is, until they faced the Hoosiers in a week 9 game at IU Memorial. Nico Iamaleava’s early interception to LB Aiden Fischer set off a chain of events that led to a crushing 6-56 loss for the Bruins. Joined by co-hosts

Nick Koop and Wayne Cook, Tim Skipper discussed the interception and its impact on the team’s mindset during the UCLA Athletics show.

“

There were things that we wished we could get back. It’s almost like as soon as we had that turnover on the second play of the game, we were shell-shocked, and we never got out of it. The whole sideline, including me, including the coaches, the players, everybody that was on the trip, just kind of took us out of our element, took us out of our game. We started panicking, and before we knew it, the scoreboard was out of hand.” Skipper said on the November 7th episode of the show.

Nico Iamaleava never found his rhythm in the game, finishing with a 48.1% completion rate for 113 yards, 0 TDs, and two interceptions. The uncharacteristic performance put him in a negative spotlight. However, Tim Skipper believes the Indiana defeat is something that his team can learn from.

“

I told the team Tuesday when we got back, ‘Hey, we’re going to learn from this film because we played against a team that’s really good, and they don’t take anything for granted. They do all the things we’re talking about, the small details, standards to standard, being physical, straining, all those things they did to us.’ So, we needed to learn from that.” Skipper asserted.

And that’s exactly what UCLA needs right now. The Bruins are just four games away from finishing the season on a positive note. A

win against Nebraska on Saturday would bring them one step closer to that goal.

Week 11 clash against Nebraska is a must-win game for Tim Skipper

For UCLA, the 2025 season has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. From going 0-3 at the start of the season to firing Deshaun Foster, the Bruins have had their fair share of ups and downs. And now they race against time to end the season on a positive note. Four teams are left on UCLA’s path to that goal, with Nebraska coming up this week.

After losing their starting QB, Dylan Raiola, to a broken fibula, HC Matt Rhule will turn to true freshman TJ Lateef to lead the offense. This development could pose a challenge for Tim Skipper’s squad, as Lateef has very limited game film available for analysis. Tim Skipper will have to fix the issues from the Indiana game and then work on making a plan against the threat that Lateef possesses.

Both teams are within three positions of each other in the conference. This makes the week 11 game a must-win game for both Tim Skipper and Matt Rhule.

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