No. 12-ranked UCLA can match its best start since the 2022 season with a Big Ten Conference win Saturday against Wisconsin in Pasadena, Calif., but the Bruins might have to do so without quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
UCLA (5-0, 3-0) lost its veteran playmaker just before halftime of last Saturday’s 17-15 win at then-No. 13 Oregon. CBS Sports reported on Monday that the leg injury Iamaleava sustained is expected to be season-ending.
Bruins coach Bob Chesney said Monday there is no definitive forecast for Iamaleava, but “there is a serious concern at this moment.”
Ty Dieffenbach came on in relief of Iamaleava vs. the Ducks, having moved up in the depth chart over Nico’s younger brother, Madden. Chesney said Dieffenbach and Madden Iamaleava have had their roles evaluated on a “week-by-week basis.”
“He threw some really nice, accurate footballs, catchable footballs (vs. Oregon),” Chesney said of Dieffenbach, whose performance included a 9-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Knight. “He stepped up in the moment when we needed him to, and at the same point in time, he commanded the offense really, really well.”
The scoring pass to Knight led to one of the running back’s two TDs. The other came on a 35-yard run for Knight’s 10th rushing touchdown of the season; it was his sixth carry of 30-plus yards this season.
Knight, who is averaging 7.7 yards per carry, will be the offensive focal point opposite a Wisconsin defense holding opponents to an average of just 3.2 yards a rush and only three touchdowns on the ground all season.
Their last time out, the Badgers (4-1, 2-0) held Big Ten counterpart Michigan State to 127 yards on 45 carries in a 31-3 romp on Oct. 3. Wisconsin has four straight victories since its season-opening loss to Notre Dame.
Badgers quarterback Colton Joseph accounted for all four of Wisconsin’s touchdowns vs. the Spartans. He threw 20- and 15-yard scoring strikes to Jacob Harris, a 46-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Coleman, and punctuated his team-leading 141 yards on the ground with a 47-yard score.
Joseph has thrown at least one touchdown pass of 28-plus yards in all five outings.
“There’s some consistency there,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said in his Monday press conference. “How can we continue to build upon the things Colton does well? How do we give him opportunities to be aggressive and to take some of those shots … but eliminating some of the issues we’ve had?
“I talk about it all the time, about balance, but there’s a balance [to the offense].”
In terms of any “issues,” as Fickell described, Joseph has thrown five interceptions to his 10 touchdowns this season. The Badgers must adjust for a UCLA defense with 10 interceptions. Four have come from Ta’Shawn James, who is tied for second-most in the country after snagging a pick at Oregon.
