The fun rolls on.
After winning in a barnburner and a blowout, UCLA was going to need a comeback to continue its improbable midseason resurgence.
Nico Iamaleava complied on a day that looked as if it might have a very different ending for the UCLA quarterback.
Having had two passes intercepted and losing a fumble, Iamaleava finally found a rhythm when his team needed it most, shaking off an injury and leading UCLA to a gritty 20-17 victory over Maryland on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
Returning from an apparent right knee injury that forced him to briefly depart the game, Iamaleava engineered a fast-moving drive that started at UCLA’s 27-yard line and ended at the Maryland five after a hard-charging 35-yard run by Anthony Frias II in which the running back refused to be brought down, spinning and breaking tackles.
Mateen Bhaghani took it from there, nailing a 23-yard field goal with two seconds left in what became the Bruins’ third consecutive victory after Maryland couldn’t conjure a miracle on the kickoff.
This triumph took some considerable doing.
A UCLA defense that had been stout all day, giving up just a field goal, suddenly drooped in the final two minutes.
Maryland drove 75 yards in just 84 seconds for the tying score, quarterback Malik Washington connecting with Jalil Farooq on an eight-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds left.
But Iamaleava had some magic left in a memorable fourth quarter, completing two long passes to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala before Frias’ big run.
Earlier, facing a fourth-and-10 near midfield with the Bruins trailing 10-7, Iamaleava connected with wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer on a 16-yard pass, with an additional 15 yards tacked on for a targeting penalty against the Terrapins.
Three plays later, Iamaleava zipped a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Matthews cutting toward a corner of the end zone, pushing the Bruins into a 14-10 lead.
The situation quickly improved for UCLA when defensive back Scooter Jackson intercepted a pass on Maryland’s next possession, running with teammates into the far end zone. Bhaghani added a 42-yard field goal after Iamaleava departed on the following possession.
It seemed hard to imagine a month ago, but a national spotlight will fall on the Bruins (3-4 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) next weekend when they face No. 3 Indiana on the road as part of Fox’s “Big Noon” showcase game.
UCLA prevailed despite getting nowhere near the 40 points it had averaged in its previous two games with Jerry Neuheisel as the playcaller.
Given a chance to tie the score midway through the fourth quarter, Bhaghani barely pulled a 56-yard field goal wide left.
Kicking the field goal was a debatable decision considering the Bruins were facing a fourth-and-two at Maryland’s 38-yard line when they sent Bhaghani onto the field.
What had been a shaky day for Iamaleava got significantly rougher late in the third quarter.
With the Bruins backed up at their four-yard line, Iamaleava stared down Gilmer before throwing the ball his way near the sideline. Maryland’s Jamare Glasker stepped in front of the pass at the eight-yard line and returned it for a touchdown to give the Terrapins a 10-7 lead.
It was a day in which the defenses ruled.
Already having kept Maryland (4-3, 1-3) out of the end zone on one first-and-goal situation, UCLA’s defense faced a second test late in the third quarter when the Terrapins managed a first-and-goal at the seven. After a short run, an incompletion and a short pass, Maryland went for it on fourth and goal from the two.
Bad move.
Washington lofted a pass toward the corner of the end zone, where UCLA’s Andre Jordan Jr. broke it up for an incompletion.
There was a storybook development for UCLA in the first half.
The kid who once stood outside the Rose Bowl holding a sign over his head that read, “One day I will play here!” did more than appear inside the storied stadium.
Nearly a decade later, in the stuff of dreams, Frias scored on a 55-yard touchdown run after cutting one way and then the other before slipping a tackle inside the 10-yard line to give UCLA a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
A big Christian McCaffrey fan who had painted his bare chest with a red “S” on the day of Stanford’s 2016 Rose Bowl victory over Iowa, Frias celebrated his first UCLA touchdown — and his team’s longest scoring run of the season — by high-stepping behind the end zone before slapping hands with a Bruins fan.
There were few other offensive highlights for UCLA. The Bruins appeared ready to line up for a 55-yard field goal in the first half before taking a delay of game and punting.
A promising drive shortly before halftime ended after Iamaleava rolled out and fired a pass that was intercepted by Maryland’s Jalen Huskey at the Terrapins’ eight-yard line. It was UCLA’s first turnover since its loss to New Mexico, ending a stretch of three straight games without giving the ball away.
Fortunately for the Bruins, their defense didn’t give up much of anything and their quarterback refused to fold.
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