UCLA starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava out for season with knee injury - BERITAJA
UCLA elder starting backmost Nico Iamaleava will miss the remainder of this play pinch a knee injury, according to a personification pinch knowledge of the wounded not authorized to talk it publicly.
The wounded is simply a rustle for the No. 12 Bruins, who are 5-0 during coach Bob Chesney’s first play and person a favorable way to a spot successful the College Football Playoff.
Iamaleava sustained the wounded astatine the extremity of the first half of UCLA’s triumph complete Oregon.
The backmost was moving pinch the shot erstwhile he was spun about and was tackled. He grabbed his limb arsenic he was deed successful the caput by Oregon’s Bear Alexander. Iamaleava concisely returned for 1 play and Chesney said during a halftime TV question and reply the backmost was good aft getting deed successful the quad.
Iamaleava, however, did not return pinch the squad aft halftime and yet emerged from the locker room successful the 3rd 4th wearing thoroughfare clothes.
UCLA backmost Nico Iamaleava is examined by aesculapian unit while coach Bob Chesney watches Saturday successful Eugene, Ore.
(Lydia Ely / Associated Press)
Before his exit, Iamaleava went 10 of 17 passing for 162 yards and 2 interceptions. Through 5 games, the backmost tallied 982 passing yards, 144 rushing yards, 5 full touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
After Saturday’s win, Chesney said that he thought Iamaleava injured his thigh, but he noted the wounded whitethorn person been much extended and it would require a afloat aesculapian evaluation.
Senior backmost Ty Dieffenbach, who had been listed 3rd connected the extent floor plan down Iamaleava and his younger relative Madden, ran the UCLA discourtesy during the 2nd half. He completed 3 passes for 43 yards and 1 touchdown, helping the Bruins gain a 17-15 win.
“When personification goes down, and someone’s gotta measurement up, you’re either exposed aliases you’re revealed,” Chesney said. “One of the 2 is going to hap erstwhile your number gets called, and for Ty to measurement up successful that infinitesimal erstwhile Nico couldn’t spell and to put himself successful the spot wherever he was revealed for knowing the tally game, knowing what to get america into, the touchdown walk I thought he threw.”
Madden Iamaleava appeared successful 2 games this season, taking complete the discourtesy against Purdue erstwhile his older relative went down pinch a enarthrosis wounded and against Maryland pinch UCLA up aggregate scores.
Chesney turned to Dieffenbach, who started past play astatine Cal Poly, during 1 of the biggest moments of the season. Dieffenbach said aft the triumph he didn’t cognize he would beryllium asked to lead the discourtesy if Nico Iamaleava was knocked out.
UCLA backmost Ty Dieffenbach prepares to person the shot during a triumph complete Oregon Saturday successful Eugene, Ore.
(Lydia Ely / Associated Press)
The determination to play Dieffenbach alternatively of Madden was based connected the crippled book and the threat of Dieffenbach successful the crushed game, Chesney said.
“We are really connected a week-to-week ground here, and this week we felt for illustration we had to tally a small spot much pinch the backmost possibly, and that’s wherever I felt Ty had a really bully week and that put america successful that spot,” Chesney said. “This is conscionable 1 of those things that I’m judge if Madden would’ve went successful there, he would person done a phenomenal occupation arsenic well. But I thought Ty was the feline we decided connected astatine this infinitesimal based connected the erstwhile week of practice.”
Chesney and Dieffebach acknowledged that the conflict for the UCLA backup spot ne'er ends.
“Every week is simply a conflict betwixt maine and Madden for the two-spot, and I mean some of america were executing successful practice,” Dieffenbach said. “... When I heard that I was [going to play, it was] conscionable passageway vision, conscionable fresh to spell execute.”
Prior to helping gain UCLA’s first triumph astatine Autzen Stadium since 2004, Dieffenbach spent the 2025 run astatine Cal Poly, wherever he started 11 games, throwing for 1,305 yards, 9 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, alongside 321 crushed yards and 4 scores.
Dieffenbach’s one-year stint successful San Luis Obispo was preceded by 2 years astatine Pittsburgh, wherever he did not spot immoderate crippled action. The awesome caller’s transportation to UCLA marked a return to Southern California for the Agoura High product, who started his precocious schoolhouse profession arsenic a wide receiver but vanished his 3 varsity seasons pinch 4,153 passing yards and 48 touchdowns.
