National media outlet predicts when former Tennessee Vols QB Nico Iamaleava will lose his first game with the UCLA Bruins
A few months ago, quarterback Nico Iamaleava was gearing up to lead the Tennessee Vols against the Syracuse Orange to open the 2025 college football season. A lot has happened since then. Iamaleava had an extremely public breakup with Tennessee near the end of spring practice, which led to the former five-star recruit's transfer to […]
A few months ago, quarterback Nico Iamaleava was gearing up to lead the Tennessee Vols against the Syracuse Orange to open the 2025 college football season.
A lot has happened since then.
Iamaleava had an extremely public breakup with Tennessee near the end of spring practice, which led to the former five-star recruit's transfer to UCLA.
Now instead of preparing to open the season against Syracuse, Iamaleava will prepare for the Bruins' season-opening matchup against Utah.
And that's when CBS Sports thinks Iamaleava will experience his first loss as UCLA's starting quarterback.
CBS Sports predicted when each Big 10 program will lose their first game in 2025. And they have UCLA losing to Utah in Week One. They also think UCLA could be in danger of losing to UNLV (which is now led by former Florida head coach Dan Mullen) in Week 2.
From CBS Sports: Nico Iamaleava's Bruins debut comes against Utah at the Rose Bowl, followed by a trip to Las Vegas to face last year's Mountain West runner up in UNLV. If the offense struggles early, an 0–2 start is very possible.
Utah finished with a 5-7 record last season. But Kyle Whittingham is a solid coach, and Utah is almost always a tough opponent with him on the sidelines. It's a winnable game for UCLA, but it certainly won't be easy.
Fortunately for Iamaleava and the Bruins, the season-opener against Utah is a home a game.
