Bold Midseason Prediction Sees UCLA-Tennessee Bowl Game Clash

How fitting of an end to the season would an Iamaleava-Aguilar matchup be?

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel turns to quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) after their post game interview after winning the Citrus Bowl NCAA College football game on Monday, January 1, 2024 in Orlando, Fla. against Iowa. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We're officially midway through the college football season, which means it's a perfect time to look back at some of the boldest preseason predictions to see how they played out.

For instance, I predicted the UCLA Bruins would start the season 5-2 and finish 8-4. The ladder is still on the table, but the former proved to be way too optimistic.

The Athletic released a new slate of midseason predictions after revisiting many writers' preseason college football takes, and one of the latest may be the boldest of them all.

Mitch Light came up with, quite possibly, one of best possible endings to this college football season:

• "Nico Iamaleava and Joey Aguilar each throw for 300 yards and three TDs as Tennessee beats UCLA in double-overtime in the Music City Bowl."

Light, of course, may have been a little facetious, but could you imagine UCLA coming back from a 0-4 start to making it all the way to a bowl game just to matchup against one of the teams it was pegged against all offseason?

UCLA's Nico Iamaleava warms up before the football game against Michigan State on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Nico Iamaleava-Joey Aguilar debate seemed to have closed through the Bruins' abysmal 0-4 start, favoring the Volunteers signal-caller, but Iamaleava has had a season resurgence of his own that shouldn't be overlooked.

Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar (6) raises his hands during a college football game between Tennessee and Arkansas at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee on Oct. 11, 2025. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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How Tim Skipper Unlocked Nico Iamaleava

Iamaleava has turned into one of college football's most exciting quarterbacks throughout UCLA's improbable season turnaround.

UCLA's interim head coach Tim Skipper celebrates after a Bruins touchdown against Michigan State during the third quarter on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The redshirt freshman starred in both of the Bruins' upsets against No. 7 Penn State and Michigan State. Looking like a totally different player since Tim Skipper and Jerry Neuheisel assumed head roles on the Bruins' coaching staff, one has to wonder how Iamaleava was unlocked to this level.

Skipper, honest and humble as he is, says it was all Iamaleava.

• "Man, I wish I could take credit for him being able to run so fast, and being tall, and being able to throw so great," Skipper said during Monday's media availability. "I think what we do is just let him be him. I mean, seriously, my job is to make sure the guys are ready to play, and then the players go out there and play.

• "Players play and coaches coach. I treat everybody the same and he's on our team and he's a dual-threat guy that we can use in many different ways, and we're going to try to use all of those ways."

Oct 4, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) looks to pass during the first quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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