Nico Iamaleava struggles in UCLA debut, sacked 4 times in 43-10 loss to Utah

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PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Nico Iamaleava made a bigger splash in the transfer portal than he did in his debut for UCLA.

The highly touted quarterback who left Tennessee after taking the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff last season struggled in a 43-10 loss to Utah at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night.

Iamaleava was sacked four times for 28 yards lost. He was 11 of 22 for 136 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception.

“Nico’s a competitor. He’s not going to quit; he keeps playing hard,” Bruins second-year coach DeShaun Foster said. "Kept motivating the guys around him. We’ve got to do a better job of protecting him and keeping him upright.”

Iamaleava was the Bruins' leading rusher with 13 carries for 47 yards, the most by a UCLA quarterback since Ethan Garbers had 56 at Nebraska last season.

Iamaleava was outshone by Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, a New Mexico transfer who was 21 of 25 for 206 yards and two TDs. He also was the Utes' leading rusher with 16 carries for 87 yards.

UCLA’s first two drives of the game stalled on 4th and 1 and Iamaleava’s sack for a 13-yard loss help Utah take a 20-0 lead. The Bruins were forced to punt in their final drive before halftime.

Iamaleava connected with former Utah player Anthony Woods on a 19-yard score that was the Bruins' only TD of the game in the second quarter. He got sacked for a 6-yard loss that ended the Bruins' second drive of the third quarter. In the fourth, Iamaleava was intercepted to end another drive that led to a Utah first down.

“It was all self-inflicted," he said. "We didn’t execute well.”

Iamaleava announced he was leaving Tennessee in April and didn't join the Bruins until August, giving him limited time to adjust to new offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri.

“Coach Tino put me in a lot of great positions to go out there and make plays, and I didn’t execute at a high level,” Iamaleava said. "I have to take myself to the drawing board and use this film as a learning experience.”

He and the Bruins don't have time to waste. No. 2 Penn State visits on Oct. 4, the Bruins travel to 20th-ranked Indiana on Oct. 25 and visit No. 3 Ohio State on Nov. 15.

“We just take this as a learning experience,” Iamaleava said. “Utah is a great team. We're going to face many more opponents out there on the schedule and we got to be ready.

"Everything we want is still ahead of us.”

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