By Tiffany Williams –
Winless, battered, and barely recognizable, UCLA had the odds stacked against them. Four losses, a fired head coach, two coordinators gone, and No. 7 Penn State coming to town. The Bruins were 25½-point underdogs, and no one expected a miracle. But miracles happen.
Nico Iamaleava ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more, leading UCLA to a jaw-dropping 42-37 victory over the Nittany Lions on Saturday. It was the first time in 40 years that a team 0-4 or worse toppled a top-10 opponent. The Bruins hadn’t scored in the first quarter of their earlier games, but this time they exploded from the jump, scoring on their first five possessions and building a 20-point lead before missing a 56-yard field goal early in the third.
With tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel calling plays after offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri left, UCLA leaned on the run, outrushing Penn State 280 to 127. Iamaleava, their transfer quarterback from Tennessee, carried the team on his back with 128 yards on 16 carries and 166 yards passing on 17-of-24 attempts. He capped the day by scrambling seven yards into the end zone and throwing a 2-point conversion pass to Kwazi Gilmer for a 42-28 cushion with 6:41 left in the fourth.
The Nittany Lions tried to fight back. Drew Allar found Khalil Dinkins for a 40-yard touchdown and got pressure on Iamaleava, sacking him twice. Dani Dennis-Sutton blocked a punt, setting up Liam Clifford for a 6-yard recovery score. But UCLA kept answering. Iamaleava scampered 52 yards on a career-long run and powered a seven-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 1-yard plunge up the middle. When Kaytron Allen scored for Penn State to cut it to 34-28 and Allar’s TD pass made it 42-35, the Bruins held firm. A late safety sealed the shocker.
UCLA finished with 446 total yards to Penn State’s 357 and went 10 of 16 on third downs, showing the balance and toughness that had been missing all season. The Nittany Lions, reeling from a double-overtime loss to Oregon last week, had no answer for a Bruins team that refused to quit.
This wasn’t just a win. It was a statement. UCLA is now one of only five teams to pull off a victory like this while 0-4 or worse, joining UTEP, which did it in 1985 against BYU. For a Bruins squad that looked broken, Saturday’s performance was nothing short of historic.
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