UCLA’s season came to a close on Saturday as rival USC routed Nico Iamaleava and the Bruins 29-10 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. How did Iamaleava fare in the final game of his 2025 season?
Iamaleava completed 27-of-28 pass attempts for 200 yards and one touchdown. USC contained Iamaleava’s legs, holding him to just 15 rushing yards on 11 attempts thanks to four sacks.
UCLA jumped out to a 10-7 lead at halftime before USC out-scored the Bruins 22-0 in the second half. The Bruins five second half drives were a three-and-out, punt, punt, turnover on downs and another turnover on downs. UCLA crossed midfield just twice in the second half.
It was a disappointing 2025 season for UCLA. The Bruins went 3-9 (3-6 Big 10) this year. It was a miserable start to the season for the Bruins. They lost their first four games including against UNLV and New Mexico before firing coach DeShaun Foster.
The Bruins had a short resurgence under interim head coach Tim Skipper, winning three straight games against Penn State, Michigan State and Maryland before losing their final five games of the season.
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Iamaleava finished his redshirt sophomore season completing 208-of-323 pass attempts for 1,928 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The former Tennessee quarterback was most effective using his feet where he rushed for 505 yards and four more touchdowns.
The former five-star recruit posted a higher completion percentage this season at UCLA but threw for far fewer yards, fewer touchdowns and more interceptions.
Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar finished the regular season completing 258-of-356 passes for 3,444 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Aguilar added 104 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
It’s unclear what’s next for Iamaleava after a disappointing season at UCLA. Iamaleava is eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft but his stock is low after a bad season. He could return to UCLA for his redshirt junior season under a new head coach or could enter the transfer portal.
