UCLA rally falls short as Bruins lose to Nebraska at the Rose Bowl

It’s a tradition unlike any other, one that UCLA would like to mercifully end as quickly as possible.

A backup quarterback, making his first career start, proves unstoppable against the Bruins.

It happened again Saturday at the Rose Bowl, Nebraska’s TJ Lateef joining a group that over the years has included Utah’s Kendal Thompson, Arizona State’s Mike Bercovici and Arizona’s Grant Gunnell, among others.

It was a heartwarming story for Lateef, the Compton native and former Orange Lutheran High star.

Nebraska 28, UCLA 21, end of game

Nebraska returned the kickoff 24 yards, but the Huskers were called for holding.

Nebraska started on its 24.

Emmett Johnson ran for eight yards and another two yards. TJ Lateef passed for seven yards. Lateef passed for 17 yards with 2:22 left. UCLA called timeout.

Johnson bounced outside to the left and ran for nine yards. UCLA called its final timeout with 2:01 left. Johnson ran for one yard, a first down that should seal Nebraska’s win.

The two-minute timeout was triggered with 1:57 remaining.

Lateef took a knee three times to run out the clock on the win over the Bruins.

Nebraska 28, UCLA 21, 4:54 left in fourth quarter

UCLA started on its 4 after a punt and penalty.

Jaivian Thomas ran for a loss of two yards before running for 21 yards. Thomas ran for a yard before Nico Iamaleava scrambled for 10 yards. Iamaleava passed to Rico Flores Jr. for 17 yards.

UCLA was called for a false start. On first-and-15 at the UCLA 46, Iamaleava rolled out and tossed the football away. Iamaleava passed to Flores for four yards. On third-and-11, Iamaleava reversed field under pressure and passed to Mike Matthews for 24 yards.

Nebraska challenged Iamaleava’s pass, suspecting he was beyond the line of scrimmage but officials ruled he was not. The Huskers lost a timeout with 7:15 remaining.

Iamaleava was sacked for a four-yard loss. Iamaleava passed to Anthony Woods for four yards. On third-and-10, Iamaleava ran or 17 yards. Iamaleava passed to Anthony Frias II for a nine-yard touchdown.

Mateen Bhaghani hit the extra point.

Nebraska 28, UCLA 14, 11:33 left in fourth quarter

Nebraska started on its 35.

TJ Lateef ran for two yards before time expired in the third quarter. Lateef passed for 10 yards. Emmett Johnson ran for nine yards. Lateef tossed an incomplete pass. Johnson ran for four yards and a first down.

Johnson ran for a loss of three yards. Lateef tossed an incomplete pass. On third-and-13 at the UCLA 43, Johnson ran for one yard.

Nebraska punted and Mikey Matthews signaled a fair catch at the Bruins’ 8. He casually tossed the ball toward a Nebraska player and was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that TV commentators questioned and UCLA was moved back to its 4-yard line.

Nebraska 28, UCLA 14, 49 seconds left in third quarter

UCLA started on its 10 after the punt.

Anthony Woods ran for two yards. Nico Iamaleava passed to Mikey Matthews for seven yards. Iamaleava was stuffed for no gain.

UCLA lined up to punt and called timeout.

The Bruins faked the punt and Jacob Busic plunged forward for two yards and a first down.

Iamaleava’s pass was batted down by Nebraska’s Keona Davis. Jalen Berger ran for six yards. UCLA was called for a false start. Iamaleava tossed a deep, incomplete pass.

UCLA punted to the Nebraska 35.

Nebraska 28, UCLA 14, 4:33 left in second quarter

Nebraska started on its 25 after the touchback.

Emmett Johnson ran for four yards, nine yards and five yards. TJ Lateef ran for one yard. Lateef passed for nine yards. Johnson ran for three yards and another two yards. On third-and-five, Lateef passed for a loss of one yard, with UCLA’s Key Lawrence closing quickly on the tackle and blowing up the play.

Nebraska punted the ball out of bounds at the UCLA 10.

Nebraska 28, UCLA 14, 9:58 left in third quarter

UCLA started on its 31 after a kickoff return.

Nico Iamaleava passed to Rico Flores Jr. for 17 yards. Jaivian Thomas ran for one yard, but Nebraska was called for hands to the face and UCLA advanced 10 yards.

On first down at the UCLA 37, Iamaleava was sacked for a loss of eight yards. Iamaleava passed to Anthony Woods for a 45-yard touchdown.

Mateen Bhaghani hit the extra point.

Nebraska 28, UCLA 7, 11:44 left in third quarter

Nebraska started on its 25 after the touchback.

Emmett Johnson ran for 13 yards, seven yards and four yards before TJ Lateef scrambled for seven yards. TJ Lateef passed for four yards to UCLA 44.

Nebraska called a timeout with 11:53 left on the clock.

Lateef passed to Johnson for a 40-yard touchdown and Nebraska hit the extra point, further stretching its lead.

Nebraska 21, UCLA 7, end of second quarter

UCLA started on its 18 after the return.

Jalen Berger ran for five yards. Nico Iamaleava was sacked for a loss of six yards. On third-and-11 with 1:12 left, Iamaleava passed to Hudson Habermehl for 11 yards. Iamaleava passed to Rico Flores Jr. for 10 yards. Iamaleava tossed a dangerous incomplete pass intended for Mikey Matthews. On second-and-10, Iamaleava was under pressure and overthrew his pass. Iamaleava dove forward for 13 yards. Iamaleava then spiked the ball to stop the clock with 35 seconds left. Iamaleava ran for 12 yards before spiking the football to stop the clock with 25 seconds left. Iamaleava passed to Berger for six yards across the middle and UCLA called timeout with 18 seconds left.

On third-and-four at the Nebraska 31, Iamaleava passed to Flores for no gain.

Mateen Bhaghani missed the 49-yard field goal with six seconds left.

Nebraska then took a knee to run out the clock in the second quarter.

Nebraska 21, UCLA 7, 1:47 left in the second quarter.

Nebraska started on its 38 after UCLA failed to convert on fourth down.

Emmett Johnson ran for two yards. TJ Lateef ran for seven yards. Heinrich Haarberg ran for two yards. Johnson ran for 12 yards. Isaiah Mozee ran for three yards. Lateef passed to Dane Key across the middle of the field for 29 yards, triggering the two-minute timeout. Johnson ran for one yard and then two yards, moving the ball to the UCLA 2. Johnson then spun in for the two-yard touchdown.

Nebraska hit the extra point to extend its lead.

Nebraska 14, UCLA 7, 6:18 left in the second quarter.

UCLA started on its 21 after a kickoff return.

Nico Iamaleava passed to Titus Mokiao-Atimalala for seven yards. Anthony Woods ran for one yard and then another three yards. Jaivian Thomas ran for no gain. Iamaleava scrambled up the field for 21 yards. Thomas ran for three yards and another six yards. Iamaleava tossed an incomplete pass intended for Rico Flores Jr. On fourth-and-one on the Nebraska 38, Iamaleava ran for a loss of two and the Bruins turned the ball over on downs.

Nebraska 14, UCLA 7, 11:01 left in the second quarter.

Nebraska started on its 25 after the touchback.

TJ Lateef passed for nine yards and then escaped from pressure before making a shovel pass for seven yards. Lateef passed to Emmett Johnson and he broke a tackle and got some key blocks for a 56-yard touchdown.

Nebraska hit the extra point.

UCLA 7, Nebraska 7, 13:14 left in the second quarter.

UCLA started on its 25 after the touchback.

Jaivian Thomas ran for five yards. Nico Iamaleava ran for six yards. Iamaleava scrambled for another six yards. Iamaleava’s pass intended for Rico Flores Jr. was incomplete. Iamaleava ran for seven yards. Jalen Berger ran for four yards. UCLA was called for false start. On second-and-11, Anthony Woods ran for five yards. Escaping a collapsing pocket, Iamaleava ran for 11 yards. Thomas ran three yards. Iamaleava was hit while passing to Kwazi Gilmer for five yards. On third-and-two, Thomas ran for two yards to the Nebraska 26.

Iamaleava passed as he was hit to Jalen Berger for 13 yards. Berger ran for three yards as time expired at the end of the first quarter. Thomas ran for a loss of one yard. On third-and-nine, Iamaleava passed to Gilmer for eight yards. On fourth-and-one, Nebraska called timeout. Iamaleava ran for three yards and the first down at the Huskers’ 1. UCLA snapped the ball directly to Berger and he ran for a one-yard touchdown.

Mateen Bhaghani hit the extra point.

UCLA 0, Nebraska 7, 8:00 left in the first quarter.

Nebraska started on its 39 after the punt return.

Quarterback TJ Lateef ran for 14 yards. Emmett Johnson ran for 13 yards and then another three yards. Lateef passed for 16 yards to the UCLA 15. Johnson ran for five yards and another five yards to the Bruins’ 5. Johnson ran for one yard to the UCLA 4. On second-and-goal, Johnson ran for two yards. On third-and-goal, Lateef passed to Jacory Barney Jr. for a two-yard touchdown.

The Huskers hit the extra point.

Lateef, who grew up in Compton, is making his first start after Dylan Raiola broke his fibula and was knocked out for the season last week against USC.

UCLA 0, Nebraska 0, 13:19 left in the first quarter.

UCLA started on its 25 after the touchback.

Jaivian Thomas ran for one yard. Nico Iamaleava passed to Rico Flores Jr. for four yards. Iamaleava’s deep pass was incomplete.

On fourth-and-five at the UCLA 30, the Bruins punted to the Nebraska 22 and it was returned to the Huskers’ 39.

UCLA 0, Nebraska 0, start of first quarter

Nebraska won the coin and deferred. UCLA received the opening kickoff, which was a touchback

The actual start time for the UCLA vs. Nebraska game is at 6:15 p.m. (15 minutes later than announced) and it is set to air on Fox unless a college basketball game runs long.

Ben Bolch has more details:

Should UCLA make SoFi Stadium its football home, as university officials stunningly acknowledged they were considering last week, a relatively quick logo conversion on the artificial turf could be completed for Bruins games with power wash and paint.

One might as well take that same power wash to the school’s football identity.

Holy Terry Donahue, what are we doing here?

After switching conferences in a money grab, UCLA needs to sell its football soul too?

There is no better setting in college football than Saturday afternoons at the Rose Bowl.

The standard wasn’t the standard.

After a month of disciplined, passionate football that included three consecutive wins and a feel-good vibe, UCLA did not exhibit those same characteristics while going splat against second-ranked Indiana.

“That would be like the most disappointing thing,” interim coach Tim Skipper said Monday, two days after his team’s 56-6 defeat, “is just our style of play wasn’t what it’s been — you didn’t see the strain, you didn’t see the fanatical effort, those type of things, and you’re going to need to play that way when you play these top teams like we just did.”

The only consistency the Bruins showed was in struggling across the board. Their offense didn’t score a touchdown for the first time this season. Their defense gave up a season high for points.

A large group of former UCLA football players sent a letter to chancellor Julio Frenk earlier this month asking for besieged athletic director Martin Jarmond to be replaced “to reestablish the university’s commitment to excellence, both on and off the field.”

The 64 players, who represent multiple eras of UCLA football spanning coaches Bob Toledo to Chip Kelly and include several who went on to play in the NFL, wrote to “express deep concern with the current direction of UCLA Athletics under Martin Jarmond. Despite the resources, history, and opportunities at his disposal, Mr. Jarmond has not demonstrated the level of leadership or vision consistent with UCLA’s proud legacy. Rather than building on the foundations of greatness established by those before him, his tenure has fallen short of advancing UCLA to its rightful place among the nation’s premier programs.

His father says it all the time.

Anthony Frias II will suffer a setback, like those scary months when the UCLA running back was stuck in transfer portal limbo, unsure if his college career was over, and he’ll hear those familiar words.

It’s part of the movie.

He’ll strain in anonymity, police repeatedly coming to the door of his home at 2:30 a.m. because neighbors kept complaining about the sound of weights slamming onto the floor of the garage after another sweaty deadlift, and here comes his father’s favorite phrase again.

The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Co. filed a lawsuit Wednesday night to force UCLA to honor the remaining two decades of its contract and keep Bruins football games in the historic stadium through 2044.

The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against UCLA and the University of California Regents, alleges that the university has been “unequivocally expressing its intent to abandon the Rose Bowl Stadium and relocate its home football games to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood,” calling it “a profound betrayal of trust.”

UCLA’s lease runs through June 30, 2044, and Pasadena officials say taxpayers have invested more than $150 million in stadium renovations while recently refinancing an additional $130 million in bonds for additional capital improvements.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — On UCLA’s first offensive play, quarterback Nico Iamaleva found himself swarmed by a pack of defenders for a sack.

On the next play, Iamaleava faced pressure again before throwing a pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

“That’s a rough start, man,” Iamaleava said.

It never got much better for the Bruins on a chilly, cloudy Saturday afternoon that was darker than the foreboding weather.

Well, it was fun while it lasted ... wait, it’s not over?

There’s somehow at least four games left in a UCLA football season that feels like it’s already exhausted its story arc and run out of acts.

Act I: The fall of a proud Bruin.

Act II: The rise of a proud (Fresno State) Bulldog-turned-Bruin.

Act III: A 50-point implosion that sucked the air out of the season and didn’t please any Bruin.