Bruins bullied as QB Nico Iamaleava struggles in UCLA debut - ESPN

PASADENA, Calif. — By the time Nico Iamaleava stepped onto the field for his final drive of the night late in the fourth quarter of his much-anticipated debut as UCLA's quarterback, the Bruins were down 43-10 and the majority of the fans still left at the Rose Bowl were wearing red, chanting «Let's go Utah!» as if the game was being held in Salt Lake City.

It was that kind of night for UCLA. The Bruins had come into the season with the promise of a new start, a new quarterback, a new offense and a reenergized culture in coach Deshaun Foster's second season. Instead, they left their Week 1 matchup searching for answers, unable to avoid the reality of what had transpired.

«We got punched in the mouth,» Iamaleava said postgame.

After he transferred from Tennessee in the offseason in a surprising and controversial move, Iamaleava's first snaps in blue and gold were not exactly what he or UCLA had in mind.

The 20-year-old quarterback struggled to engineer much success. Though he showed flashes of potential in a handful of pinpoint throws or scrambling runs, Iamaleava was pressured by Utah's defense all night long and never found a rhythm. He finished with 11 completions on 22 pass attempts, 136 yards, one touchdown and one interception while adding a team-high 47 rushing yards.

«Nico is a competitor. He's not gonna quit. He kept playing hard,» Foster said. «We just gotta do a better job protecting him, keeping him upright.»

Iamaleava was sacked four times and pressured 10 times while the Bruins' defense was far from helpful, allowing 493 total yards, a 14-of-16 conversion rate on third downs and four touchdown drives of nine plays or more. The Long Beach native, however, did not deflect the blame.

«I didn't execute at a high