The 2025 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the Big Ten Conference during the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bruins played their home games at the Rose Bowl located in Pasadena, California.
The Bruins were led by second-year head coach DeShaun Foster, but he was fired on September 14 after the team opened the season 0–3; special assistant to the head coach Tim Skipper was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Three days later, on September 17, UCLA parted ways with defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe. After a demoralizing loss to Northwestern, UCLA and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri mutually parted ways, ending his tenure with an offense that averaged 14.3 points per game, which ranked No. 132 out of 134 major college teams. In their next game, on October 4, UCLA upset No. 7 Penn State 42–37, becoming the first team to enter a game 0–4 or worse and beat an AP poll top ten opponent since UTEP defeated No. 7 BYU in 1985.
Schedule
Preseason April 18, 2025 – UCLA Football Friday Night Lights, Drake Stadium, 6:00 p.m. May 3, 2025 – UCLA Football Spring Showcase, Rose Bowl, 2:00 p.m. July 22–24, 2025 – Media Days, Las Vegas (Mandalay Bay)
Game summaries vs Utah
Statistics UTAHUCLA First downs 30 14 Plays–yards 80–492 50–220 Rushes–yards 54–286 28–84 Passing yards 206 136 Passing: –– 21–26–0 11–22–1 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 37:28 22:32 Team Category Player Statistics Utah Passing Devon Dampier 21/25, 206 yards, 2 TD Rushing Devon Dampier 16 carries, 87 yards, TD Receiving Smith Snowden 6 receptions, 51 yards UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 11/22, 136 yards, TD, INT Rushing Nico Iamaleava 13 carries, 47 yards Receiving Anthony Woods 3 receptions, 48 yards, TD
at UNLV
Statistics UCLAUNLV First downs 27 20 Plays–yards 72–428 53–351 Rushes–yards 30–173 32–148 Passing yards 255 203 Passing: –– 29–42–1 15–21–0 Turnovers 2 0 Time of possession 31:26 28:34 Team Category Player Statistics UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 29/41, 255 yards, TD, INT Rushing Nico Iamaleava 11 carries, 59 yards, TD Receiving Kwazi Gilmer 8 receptions, 87 yards UNLV Passing Anthony Colandrea 15/21, 203 yards, 3 TD Rushing Anthony Colandrea 11 carries, 59 yards Receiving Var'keyes Gumms 3 receptions, 40 yards, TD
vs New Mexico
Statistics UNMUCLA First downs 22 15 Plays–yards 63–450 56–326 Rushes–yards 46–298 22–109 Passing yards 152 217 Passing: –– 12–17–0 22–34–1 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 36:38 23:22 Team Category Player Statistics New Mexico Passing Jack Layne 12/16, 152 yards, 2 TD Rushing Damon Bankston 15 carries, 154 yards, TD Receiving Damon Bankston 3 receptions, 49 yards, TD UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 22/34, 217 yards, TD, INT Rushing Anthony Woods 10 carries, 64 yards Receiving Mikey Matthews 3 receptions, 67 yards
at Northwestern
Statistics UCLANU First downs 21 18 Plays–yards 63–314 60–311 Rushes–yards 42–199 30–131 Passing yards 115 180 Passing: –– 12–18–0 19–27–0 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 34:21 25:39 Team Category Player Statistics UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 19/27, 180 yards, TD Rushing Nico Iamaleava 14 carries, 65 yards Receiving Kwazi Gilmer 3 receptions, 51 yards, TD Northwestern Passing Preston Stone 12/18, 115 yards, TD Rushing Caleb Komolafe 27 carries, 119 yards, TD Receiving Griffin Wilde 7 receptions, 98 yards, TD
vs No. 7 Penn State
Statistics PSUUCLA First downs 21 22 Plays–yards 57–357 77–435 Rushes–yards 31–157 53–269 Passing yards 200 166 Passing: –– 19–26–0 17–24–0 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 20:43 39:17 Team Category Player Statistics Penn State Passing Drew Allar 19/26, 200 yards, 2 TD Rushing Drew Allar 11 carries, 78 yards Receiving Kyron Hudson 4 receptions, 52 yards, TD UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 17/24, 166 yards, 2 TD Rushing Nico Iamaleava 16 carries, 128 yards, 3 TD Receiving Kwazi Gilmer 5 receptions, 79 yards, TD
at Michigan State
Statistics UCLAMSU First downs 20 14 Plays–yards 67-418 60-253 Rushes–yards 43-238 25-87 Passing yards 180 166 Passing: –– 16-24-0 16-35-0 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 36:24 23:36 Team Category Player Statistics UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 16/24, 180 yards, 3 TD Rushing Jalen Berger 12 carries, 89 yards, TD Receiving Mikey Matthews 2 receptions, 46 yards Michigan State Passing Alessio Milivojevic 8/18, 100 yards, TD Rushing Makhi Frazier 12 carries, 58 yards Receiving Nick Marsh 7 receptions, 77 yards, TD
vs Maryland (Homecoming)
Statistics MD UCLA First downs 17 21 Plays–yards 74–337 70–414 Rushes–yards 26–127 35–193 Passing yards 210 221 Passing: –– 23–48–1 21–35–2 Turnovers 2 3 Time of possession 27:00 33:00 Team Category Player Statistics Maryland Passing Malik Washington 23/48, 210 yards, TD, INT Rushing Malik Washington 6 carries, 67 yards Receiving DeJuan Williams 7 receptions, 86 yards UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 21/35, 221 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Anthony Frias II 4 carries, 97 yards, TD Receiving Titus Mokiao-Atimalala 6 receptions, 102 yards
at No. 2 Indiana
Statistics UCLAIU First downs 12 27 Plays–yards 53–201 76–475 Rushes–yards 25–88 47–262 Passing yards 113 213 Passing: –– 13–28–2 19–29–2 Turnovers 3 2 Time of possession 24:26 35:34 Team Category Player Statistics UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 13/27, 113 yards, 2 INT Rushing Nico Iamaleava 7 carries, 46 yards Receiving Rico Flores Jr. 4 receptions, 50 yards Indiana Passing Fernando Mendoza 15/22, 168 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Roman Hemby 17 carries, 81 yards, 2 TD Receiving E.J. Williams Jr. 5 receptions, 109 yards, 2 TD
vs Nebraska
Statistics NEBUCLA First downs 20 21 Plays–yards 54–361 64–348 Rushes–yards 39–156 37–157 Passing yards 205 191 Passing: –– 13–15–0 17–27–0 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 30:00 30:00 Team Category Player Statistics Nebraska Passing TJ Lateef 13/15, 205 yards, 3 TD Rushing Emmett Johnson 28 carries, 129 yards, TD Receiving Jacory Barney Jr. 4 receptions, 19 yards, TD UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 17/25, 191 yards, 2 TD Rushing Nico Iamaleava 15 carries, 86 yards Receiving Rico Flores Jr. 6 receptions, 52 yards
at No. 1 Ohio State
Statistics UCLAOSU First downs 8 25 Plays–yards 48–222 67–440 Rushes–yards 25–68 33–222 Passing yards 154 218 Passing: –– 16–23–0 26–34–0 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 25:01 34:59 Team Category Player Statistics UCLA Passing Luke Duncan 16/23, 154 yards, TD Rushing Anthony Woods 5 carries, 20 yards Receiving Rico Flores Jr. 2 receptions, 59 yards Ohio State Passing Julian Sayin 23/31, 184 yards, TD Rushing Bo Jackson 15 carries, 112 yards, TD Receiving Jeremiah Smith 4 receptions, 40 yards
vs Washington (Senior Day)
Statistics WASHUCLA First downs 25 10 Plays–yards 69–426 60–207 Rushes–yards 39–212 22–57 Passing yards 214 150 Passing: –– 18–28–1 21–37–0 Turnovers 2 3 Time of possession 34:27 25:33 Team Category Player Statistics Washington Passing Demond Williams Jr. 17/26, 213 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Adam Mohammed 21 carries, 108 yards Receiving Dezmen Roebuck 7 receptions, 96 yards, TD UCLA Passing Luke Duncan 5/11, 81 yards, TD Rushing Jalen Berger 6 carries, 26 yards Receiving Mikey Matthews 6 receptions, 38 yards, TD
at No. 17 USC (Victory Bell)
Statistics UCLAUSC First downs 20 22 Plays–yards 64–308 55–388 Rushes–yards 26–108 26–131 Passing yards 200 257 Passing: –– 27–38–0 21–29–0 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 33:16 26:44 Team Category Player Statistics UCLA Passing Nico Iamaleava 27/38, 200 yards, TD Rushing Jalen Berger 7 carries, 57 yards Receiving Kwazi Gilmer 10 receptions, 73 yards, TD USC Passing Jayden Maiava 21/29, 257 yards, 2 TD Rushing King Miller 17 carries, 124 yards, 2 TD Receiving Ja'Kobi Lane 3 receptions, 52 yards
Roster
Awards and honors Recipient Award (Big-Ten Conference) Week # Date awarded Ref. Nico Iamaleava Offensive Player of the Week 4 October 6, 2025 Mateen Bhaghani Special Teams Player of the Week 6 October 20, 2025
October 6, 2025 – Nico Iamaleava was named the Associated Press National Player of the Week October 6, 2025 – UCLA football team was named the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Team of the Week October 7, 2025 – Jerry Neuheisel was named the CBS Sports coordinator of the week October 7, 2025 – Nico Iamaleava was named to the Maxwell Award Player of the Week, the Davey O'Brien Quarterback of the Week and the Walter Camp National FBS Offensive Player of the Week. October 7, 2025 – Tim Skipper was named to the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week and to the Bear Bryant Awards Coach of the Week
Notes
References