Tennessee football fans won twice Saturday. First, the Volunteers crushed Syracuse 45-26 in transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar's first start. And then, late at night, Tennessee fans watched as UCLA football and Nico Iamaleava, more specifically, were dominated by Utah.
There is no real cross-country rivalry between Tennessee and UCLA, but there is one between the Vol fans and Iamaleava, who abruptly left the program after last season's College Football Playoff berth due to a dispute over pay and alleged attempts to secretly negotiate with other teams. The Tennessee fans were unrelenting over the offseason, particularly since they effectively traded quarterbacks with UCLA, from which Aguilar transferred.
Well, they were right, at least on Saturday. And even Iamaleava had to admit how bad it got in the Rose Bowl against the Utes.
“We got punched in the mouth,” Iamaleava said after the 43-10 loss.
Iamaleava completed 11 of his 22 passes for 136 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also rushed for 47 yards, more than anyone else on UCLA combined.
It wasn't just UCLA's offense, though; Utah outgained UCLA 492 to 220, with 286 of those yards coming on the ground for the Utes. Quarterback Devon Dampier rushed for a game-high 87, as well as a touchdown, while Wayshawn Parker and NaQuari Rogers went for 62 and 61 yards, respectively, and each adding a touchdown run as well. Smith Snowden also ran for a score.
Dampier, unlike Iamaleava, was accurate and efficient. He threw just four incompletions on 25 attempts and totaled 206 yards and two TDs through the air.
The road forward doesn't get much easier for UCLA, which now turns its attention to a road game at UNLV next week. Following a scare against FCS Idaho State in Week 0, the Rebels' offense averaged more than 7 yards per play in their 38-21 win over Sam Houston State, and they had some success giving fits to the Bearkats' quarterbacks as well.
Following their meeting with UNLV next Saturday evening, the Bruins return home for their final non-conference game on Friday, Sept. 12. They'll play New Mexico, which hung tough with UCLA's conference foe Michigan at times on Saturday. After that, UCLA has a bye before starting Big Ten play at Northwestern. A home game vs. potential No. 1 Penn State follows.
