Bruins Win a Tight One
The UCLA Bruins continued their win streak with a dramatic comeback victory over Maryland, capped by Mateen Bhaghani’s 23-yard field goal with two seconds left to seal a 20–17 win at the Rose Bowl before 35,561 fans.
By Earl Heath | Contributing Sports Writer
The UCLA Bruins continued their win streak with a dramatic comeback victory over Maryland, capped by Mateen Bhaghani’s 23-yard field goal with two seconds left to seal a 20–17 win at the Rose Bowl before 35,561 fans.
The victory marked UCLA’s third straight and continued the team’s impressive midseason turnaround.
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 21 of 35 passes for 221 yards and led three scoring drives in the final six minutes — even after suffering an apparent knee injury during that wild closing stretch. The Bruins (3–4, 3–1 Big Ten) have battled back into contention thanks to grit and late-game poise.
“I think it’s all about belief — the guys believe,” said interim head coach Tim Skipper. “There’s nothing that happened throughout the game that’s going to take our confidence away. You don’t really know that until you get in a tight game like that. I found out today that these guys believe.”
Iamaleava threw a go-ahead 14-yard touchdown pass to Mike Matthews with 3:33 remaining, then Bhaghani’s first field goal put the Bruins up 17–10 just two minutes later, following Scooter Jackson’s interception of Malik Washington deep in Maryland territory.
But Maryland tied the game at 17–17 before Iamaleava engineered one final drive. The freshman completed two passes for 33 yards before senior running back Anthony Frias broke loose for a 35-yard run to the Maryland 5-yard line, setting up Bhaghani’s decisive kick.
The Bruins overcame three turnovers, including an interception returned eight yards for a touchdown by Maryland’s Jamare Glasker in the third quarter. UCLA also went nine straight drives without scoring before Matthews’ clutch TD catch reignited the offense.
“It just shows how much of a leader Nico is,” Matthews said. “He came back and pushed through. He’s got that dog in him, no matter what.”
Frias finished with seven carries for 37 yards, highlighted by a 55-yard touchdown sprint in the second quarter — the first of his college career — to open scoring for the Bruins.
Maryland (4–3) dropped its third straight after a 4–0 start, blowing late leads in each defeat, including this one nearly 2,700 miles from College Park.
UCLA will travel to Indiana next Saturday, while Maryland has a bye before hosting the Hoosiers on Nov. 1.
