UNLV and UCLA are set to meet in Las Vegas this weekend for a Week 2 matchup between two West Coast teams. UNLV is 2-0 on the campaign with a Week 0 and Week 1 win against a couple of small schools, Idaho State and Sam Houston. UCLA is 0-1 after they got rocked by Utah in their season opener, 43-10.
Nico Iamaleava's debut with the Bruins went nowhere close to how he had hoped it would go. UCLA got punched in the mouth right away and had a tough time keeping up with the stellar Utah offense. Iamaleava threw for 136 yards on 11/22 completions with one touchdown and one interception. He also carried the ball 13 times for 47 yards. He could not find a rhythm. His best play of the game outside of the TD pass was his 21-yard run. Iamaleava is hoping to bounce back against a UNLV team whose defense is not playing well at all this season.
Ironically, UNLV's defensive back, Aamaris Brown, took some shots at Iamaleava ahead of their battle this weekend.
“Honestly, nothing really sticks out to me about him (on tape).”
Giving a player “bulletin board material” ahead of a game has never made sense, but we often see it used as a tactic to try to get into a player's head. Brown may believe that Iamaleava shows nothing on tape, but the young QB certainly impressed last season while at Tennessee, throwing for 2,600+ yards and 19 touchdowns for one of the best teams in the country. Iamaleave's time with Tennessee did not end well, and he left for a UCLA team desperately trying to turn the page. UCLA football has been irrelevant for some time now, even since before Chip Kelly's time in LA.
UNLV is 2-0, but they have not played well. UNLV beat Idaho State 38-31 as -30 point favorites. They trailed for a lot of the game and almost lost to an FCS school. Then, the Running Rebels bounced back with a 38-21 win over Sam Houston. UNLV had the game in hand, but allowed 14 points in the 4th quarter to Sam Houston off two big plays. The Rebels' defense must step up if they want to beat UCLA.
Brown's words may come back to hurt him.
