UCLA’s 21-28 loss to Nebraska in Week 11 further dented its bowl game hopes. The Huskers were without their QB1, and even then, the Bruins couldn’t come out on top. Unfortunately for Tim Skipper, Nico Iamaleave was the only one who got going on the offense. The head coach reflected on the loss and discussed the inconsistent offense. 

On the November 13th episode of Bruins Insider Show, Wayne Cook questioned UCLA’s interim coach about the offensive imbalance and overreliance on Nico Iamaleava. “It was a lot of Nico and not as much really effective running the football and throwing the football… I don’t want to call them hero plays because you want your elite athletes to do that, but I imagine going forward we’ve got to find a way to become a little more consistent and run the plays as designed,” Wayne Cook said to Tim Skipper.

In his response, the Bruins’ HC started by acknowledging the issue. “I think the defenses know that, too,” Tim Skipper said. “The box is loaded up in there. I mean, it’s crazy. And you try to establish it that way. This game was one of the first ones in a while since Penn State, where they were playing a lot of coverage and dropping guys. So once you got past the front four, there was nobody there. There were a lot of openings in our pass game to get some leakage for Nico to get out of there and run.”

The Huskers’ defense forced Nico to scramble outside the pocket to extend plays and find an open receiver to turn second and third into first downs, while the rushing attack faltered. Each of UCLA’s RBs was cut short under 4 yards per carry, combining a total of 69 yards on 21 carries.

Tim Skipper accepts Wayne Cook’s suggestion to amend things to ensure RBs play consistently. “You’re exactly right,” the interim coach admits. “We’re constantly trying to figure out ways to get the RBs established and things like that.”

Skipper then claimed that they weren’t intentionally adding pressure to Iamaleava, as the Huskers’ defense made Nico a reliable option to make plays. “I mean, we threw the swing screen out there in the woods, and he took it to the house, cuz the box was loaded.” The Bruins coach said, “We just ran across. So getting out in the perimeter in this Nebraska game was the way to go. And then Nico was able to get some running lanes. He had a lot of running lanes in the game. That was our most effective thing, as far as getting runs.”

Nico Iamaleava completed 17 out of 25 passes for 191 yards and 2 TDs and rushed 86 yards on 15 carries against the Huskers. It was his second-best rushing yards of the season, after the Penn State game. But the offense can’t be just Nico. That may work for a game or two. However, it’s not sustainable. 

“So, that’s something we have to keep working on, but you have to take what the defense gives you. So it’s basically what’s coming down to you,” Skipper said. 

The Nebraska defeat was hard to digest for UCLA, but Skipper learned some positive notes from the loss.

Tim Skipper’s positive takeaways from UCLA’s loss to Nebraska

Despite the brutal loss, the interim head coach shared positive takeaways from Week 11. The coach on the Monday media availability noted that they had zero turnovers and had the time of possession.

“We did a lot of good things,” Tim Skipper said. “We were able to run the ball. If you look at it statistically, the stats were dead even, like total yards, rush yards, pass yards, and turnovers. Both teams had zero turnovers. The time of possession was dead 30-30. I’ve never seen that before. I’ve never been a part of that.”

He believes that they played a lot better but “just basically ran out of time.” Unfortunately, the Bruins didn’t have a bye to reset. To finish the season strong and enter the bowl games, they’ll have to win the remaining games. However, the road is not smooth, as they face a tough schedule featuring Ohio State, Washington, and USC to close out the season.