The UCLA Bruins football team lost to Northwestern 17-14 in a Big Ten game on Saturday at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. The defeat leaves the Bruins with an 0-4 overall record and 0-1 in conference play.
Northwestern led by as much as 17 points midway through the second quarter, but UCLA managed to reduce the deficit to three points in the fourth quarter. Despite two late offensive drives, UCLA was unable to move into field goal range for a potential tie or win.
UCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper commented on his team’s effort: “I’m proud of the guys for fighting and finishing. We need to start a lot better in that first 30 minutes. We kind of spotted them some points and some plays. A lot of bonding and talking at halftime. We came out with a lot more fire and energy. We started making the plays, so the guys started believing in everything that we were talking about. We pitched a second-half shutout, and we got some drives going on offense, but I wish we would’ve played the first half better.”
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava led UCLA’s offense by completing 19 of 27 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown while also rushing for 65 yards on 14 carries. He connected with wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer for a 29-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter, followed by a successful two-point conversion.
Kicker Mateen Bhaghani contributed with two field goals—one from 28 yards as time expired in the first half, and another from 25 yards late in the third quarter.
For Northwestern, quarterback Preston Stone threw for 115 yards and one touchdown on 12-of-18 passing attempts. Running back Caleb Komolafe carried the ball 27 times for 119 yards and scored one touchdown.
Northwestern built its early lead with a field goal late in the first quarter before Komolafe’s nine-yard rushing touchdown early in the second made it 10-0. Stone later connected with Griffin Wilde for a ten-yard touchdown pass before halftime to put Northwestern up by seventeen.
UCLA will look to rebound next week when they host Penn State at the Rose Bowl on October 4th at 12:30 p.m., with national coverage scheduled on CBS.
