Who knew giving students free tickets would give the Bruins just what they need to pull off their first conference game of the season?
The UCLA Bruins (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) took on the Purdue Boilermakers (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten) on a warm night at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. With the Boilermakers winning the coin toss, the Bruins were left to receive. Within the first four minutes of the quarter with Bruins in possession of the ball, senior starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava passed to the right for 20 yards to senior wide receiver Semaj Morgan for their first touchdown. Senior kicker Mateen Bhaghani’s kick was good, giving UCLA one more point.
Purdue came back sharp and strong in return, scoring its first touchdown in seven seconds, off one complete pass. Morgan, with a pass from Nico Iamaleava, scored another touchdown for the Bruins shortly after Nico Iamaleava pushed the Bruins up 32 yards with a run. Purdue fumbled the next ball in their possession, turning it over to the Bruins, who used distracting plays to force another touchdown to end the quarter, 21-7.
Purdue opened the second quarter with its second touchdown of the night but were still behind UCLA, 21-14. Sophomore wide receiver Brian Rowe Jr. completed the 20-yard pass from Nico Iamaleava. UCLA got to fourth down and Bhaghani’s first field goal attempt of the night for a 43-yard field goal was no good.
With less than 10 minutes left in the first half, Purdue received the ball. However, its passes were incomplete, forcing third and 10. And on the third down, Purdue’s starting quarterback Ryan Browne was sacked by senior linebacker Sammy Omosigho. Just over six minutes left in the first half and UCLA was forced to punt. After Purdue managed to pick up 37 yards, it completed a 20-yard pass to score another touchdown. After the extra point, the Boilermakers tied with the Bruins at 21-21.
UCLA’s fifth year wide receiver Leland Smith completed a 27-yard pass with under a minute left. Purdue called a timeout shortly after. The Bruins came back from the timeout in hopes of a touchdown before heading back to the locker room for halftime, but the pass to Rowe Jr. in the end zone was incomplete. Right after the 16- yard pass to Smith was complete, the Bruins followed with a timeout with 12 seconds left. Bhaghani came out for his second field goal attempt which was good this time from 34 yards, pushing the Bruins ahead. The Bruins went into halftime leading 24-21.
Purdue began the next quarter with a short pass up the middle for 29 yards, and conquered the last 30 yards for a touchdown.
Ball back with the Bruins, UCLA’s fifth-year running back Wayne Knight rushed the left for eight yards, then the right for another six yards. Nico Iamaleava passed deep into the middle to Rowe Jr. for 43 yards, but was pushed back five yards after a UCLA false start. The offense took the hit in stride, as fifth-year running back Anthony Woods rushed up the middle into the end zone for a touchdown. The Boilermakers once again lost the ball to the Bruins after another fumble, handing the possession over, where the Bruins took 18 yards on first down. Knight once again wrapped it up for the Bruins, rushing up the middle for a touchdown.
Just when most believed that Purdue’s time for possession was over, UCLA received a penalty after roughing the passer, giving Purdue an automatic first down. After a few incomplete passes Purdue settled for attempting and successfully completing a field goal from 27 yards.
With just a minute or two left on the clock, after multiple successes in pushing the ball forward, Nico Iamaleava was once again tackled and taken off the field due to an injury. The Bruins put in Iamaleava’s younger brother, sophomore quarterback Madden Iamaleava who took his place until the end of the third quarter, with the Bruins up 38-31.
After the injury scare, Nico Iamaleava came back to the game in the fourth quarter. Four seconds into the last quarter, he threw a pass to senior running back Jaivian Thomas for a touchdown. The extra point was good, bringing the Bruins up 45-31. The Boilermakers later answered with a touchdown as well but it seemed to be too late as they stayed far behind the Bruins. The Bruins scored one last touchdown to end the game 52-38.
With this win, the Bruins remain undefeated and will now go back on the road to face Maryland on Saturday at 10:30 AM PT.
