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Nico Iamaleava leads UCLA upset over Penn State for first win with Bruins
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Five games into the season, Nico Iamaleava has his first win as the UCLA starting quarterback.
And it came as a 24.5-point underdog to the seventh-ranked team in the country.
Inside the Rose Bowl on Saturday, Iamaleava ran for a career-high 128 yards, threw for 166 yards, and scored a career-high 5 touchdowns to lead the Bruins to a 42-37 win over Penn State. The win was UCLA’s first of the season.
Over the last 3 weeks, UCLA fired its head coach, replaced its defensive coordinator, and parted ways with its offensive coordinator. The Bruins had been held to 14 points or fewer in 3 of their first 4 games. They hadn’t scored more than 2 touchdowns in a game all season.
Behind a punishing rushing performance from UCLA, the Bruins had a 27-7 lead over the Nittany Lions at the halftime break.
In the second half, Penn State cut the margin to a single score twice. Both times, the former Tennessee quarterback had an answer.
After a blocked punt was returned for a touchdown by Penn State in the third quarter, Iamaleava scrambled for a 52-yard gain on a third-and-7 play, then scored from a yard out to cap the drive and put UCLA up 34-21.
With a little over 14 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Penn State scored to climb within 6 points again.
Iamaleava opened the ensuing possession with a 1-yard loss and then a 26-yard scramble. He capped it with a 7-yard rushing score and a 2-point conversion to put the Bruins up by 14 points with 6:41 to play.
The defense came up with a stop at the end to seal the win, stuffing Penn State quarterback Drew Allar on fourth-and-2 with under 40 seconds to play and effectively icing the game.
The win was UCLA’s first over an AP Top 10 opponent since beating Texas in Austin, 34-12, in 2010. UCLA also became the first 0-4 opponent to beat a top-10 team since
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.