What Tim Skipper Said After UCLA's Comeback Halted by Nebraska

The UCLA Bruins (3-6, 3-3 Big Ten) were no match to Nebraska's newfound one-two punch of true freshman quarterback TJ Lateef and running back Emmett Johnson in a comeback-cut-short, 28-21.

Lateef is a Southern California native and starred in his homecoming. Lateef finished 13-for-15 for 205 yards and three touchdowns, which was good for a 267.5 passer rating. UCLA's defense had no answer for Lateef and star running back Emmett Johnson, who posted 129 ground yards and three total touchdowns.

Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava fought tooth and nail to will UCLA back into this game. He passed 17-for-25 for 191 yards and two touchdowns, but shined when he had to scramble, rushing for 86 yards on 15 carries, each more important than the last.

ucl — Nov 8, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) throws against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

UCLA needed this win if it wanted any chance (although slim) at attaining bowl game eligibility. Sitting one loss away from matching last season's loss total, the Bruins have a gauntlet schedule ahead, which includes No. 1 Ohio State, No. 19 USC and No. 23 Washington.

Interim coach Tim Skipper spoke to the media postgame about containing Lateef and Johnson and Iamaleava's performance. Below is a transcript of Skipper's full postgame press conference.

Tim Skipper Postgame vs Nebraska

On UCLA's defense

“Most of our game plan was to stop 21 (Emmett Johnson), he’s a special, special player. We talked about it with the media on Monday, that was most of our game plan, limiting him. They did a good job of game planning him in the pass game. He caught a screen and made an explosive play off of that. I think he is a very special talent. Nationally, they should be talking about him a lot more. And then for their quarterback to come out here, first start, and almost was perfect. You tip your hat to that kid. He’s coming home and playing in front of his family and things like that.

"They did a really good job on defense in the first half for most of the half we had some misfits and things like that. Then, when we did fit, they were still moving us backward. I thought we got better in the second half, but it just wasn’t enough, we just didn’t hold up. They kept running the rock. But if you look at the stats its dead even, even time of possession in 30-30. It’s kind of crazy when you read it because it didn’t feel that way when we were out there. Our guys fought. I’m proud of our guys. We kept fighting, there was no quit out there, we just came up a little bit short.”

ucl — Nov 8, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson (21) runs the ball against the UCLA Bruins during the first half at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

On protecting Iamaleava

“I think he likes to be in the contact. I thought he did a really good job extending plays for us. He was a true dual-threat tonight. You hope your running backs are the leading rushers, but he was the leading rusher for us tonight. He is just going to keep making his plays. He is going to do what he does. I thought he played four quarters of ball. Hoping to get the ball back for our guys and see if we can punch it in. We were starting to get some momentum but we didn’t get the stop at the end.”

On other Bruins sparking in the run game

“Football is a team game, I mean it really is. If you are going to run the ball you need the o-line, the tight ends, the running backs, the receivers, everybody. It’s always going to be a team game no matter what. We need everybody. We also need the defense to get stops, and that gets us more opportunities. We just need everybody, that’s the only way you are going to win in football. There’s no one-on-one and all that stuff. We have 11 guys working together being one heartbeat, and that’s how you are successful. We will continue to keep working that.”

ucl — Nov 8, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Jalen Berger (0) runs the ball against Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker Javin Wright (0) during the first half at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

On the 4th-and-1 in the first half

“On the fourth and one I thought we had it, and Nico pulled it because he thought he had the pull read. But when you watch it on the iPad if we just hand it we have it pretty easy. I don’t regret the decision or anything like that. We are going to be very aggressive on the short yardage plays like that. We got the fake punt later in the game and things like that. Every play matters, every possession matters, every game matters and unfortunately we didn’t get it there.”

On containing Lateef

“When you have #21 and he’s going and you have to sell out for him, it makes things easier for him (TJ Lateef). It’s like all games, if you can run the ball on offense, it makes the game a lot easier. Their ability to run settled their whole offense down. They had some play action, some boots, they were getting guys on crossers wide open, then they started running some mesh, and they got guys open on that. They did a good job, it’s what it is. It’s a chess match. We started to figure it out a little bit in the second half, just ran out of time.”

ucl — Nov 8, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback TJ Lateef (14) moves out to pass against the UCLA Bruins during the second half at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

On Iamaleava's scramble success

“I’ll say this. They were rushing four a lot and were dropping a lot of guys in our pass game. They didn’t have a spy on Nico a lot so he was able to tuck it and go. Some of the other games they’ve had spies, so we had to throw the ball and things like that. If he has running lanes, he definitely has the leeway to go get it. That’s why he was so successful a lot of times when he got out of there. We have to take what they give us. They do a good job. They are a man team, and do a good job, and by doing that, it’s going to free up some passing lanes for the passer when they only rush four. He has the green light to do that, and it’s successful for us, it works. We are going to use his legs all the time.”

On UCLA's ups and downs this season

“The sun is going to rise tomorrow. We’re not in quit mode or anything like that. The sun is going to rise, and we are going to get back to work. We are going to watch this film and get better from it. Then we are going to have Monday and Tuesday, and we are going to get after it. We are going to fly over to Ohio and go play ball. That’s what we are going to do.”

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