Grading Nico Iamaleava's UCLA Performance vs. Maryland

The Bruins' signal-caller didn't have his best outing, but they were still able to gut out a win.

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 UCLA Bruins are winners of three straight as they survived a gritty Maryland team, 20-17, after a game-winning field goal.

UCLA kicker Mateen Bhaghani iced the game with a 23-yarder to push his Bruins on top. The game-winning drive started at their own 27-yard line with 35 seconds remaining, and a 35-yard Anthony Frias II run put the Bruins in field goal position.

The game was a defensive clash, as the teams traded three-and-outs for the better part of the first three quarters. UCLA was 7-17 on third downs and Maryland was 6-17.

Nico Iamaleava was tested throughout, completing 21 of his 35 passes (60%), throwing for 221 yards and a touchdown, but also tossing two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Iamaleava also fumbled on a sack, which was recovered by the Terrapins, accounting for all three of UCLA's turnovers.

The redshirt sophomore was pressured all night and, late in the fourth quarter, he injured his knee on a sack and had to be helped off the field. However, on the Bruins' game-winning drive, Iamaleava took the field again.

“It just shows how much of leader he is," said wide receiver Mikey Matthews, who caught Iamaleava's lone touchdown. "He definitely wanted to be in that last drive to make sure he ended it out and won us the game. But he came back and pushed through. That just shows he definitely has that dawg in him no matter what.”

Oct 11, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) looks for an open receiver in the second quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images | Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images

Bruins interim head coach Tim Skipper leads UCLA to three-straight wins and a 3-1 Big Ten record. He sounded off on Iamaleava's lackluster outing.

“I’m not going to put it all on Nico," Skipper said. "There are a lot of things that happened. Maryland did a great job of giving us a lot of different looks. Our ground game was hit or miss. It was tough sledding out there. But for the whole entire offense, those guys had to stick together. It’s the whole unit. 11 guys and one heartbeat. Nico was being a leader. The leader went down, and maybe he’s out. All of that stuff matters. The belief was still. All three phases had moments that were good. We won this as a team.”

Iamaleava's Week 8 Grade

This was statistically Iamaleava's worst game since their Week 1 blunder against Utah. Iamaleava posted a 111.0 passer rating against the Terps, which is the second-lowest on the season, behind a 107.8 outing against the Utes.

Aug 30, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) runs the ball as offensive lineman Sam Yoon (64) provides coverage against Utah Utes linebacker Lander Barton (8) during the second half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

According to ESPN's QBR, though, deems Iamaleava had a better game than last week's passing masterclass against Michigan State, giving the signal caller a 51.3 rating this week compared to 49.3 last week.

We don't care about statistics here. We're grading Iamaleava's performance on what we saw. And, quite frankly, if it weren't for UCLA's terrific defensive showcase, Iamaleava may have harbored all the blame in a loss.

His decision-making was often questionable, his passes were errant, and he struggled to make plays with his legs (though that may have been atop Maryland's scouting report). All things considered, the Bruins came out with a win and Iamaleava helped drive UCLA down the field to win the game. We give him a C+ this week.

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