IN THOSE HOLLYWOOD HILLS: UNM, UCLA under lights of Rose Bowl
Lobos take on winless Bruins in a pivotal non-conference game for both schools
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava throws a pass during the first half of the Bruins' Week 2 game at UNLV. UCLA dropped to 0-2 with the 30-23 loss to the Rebels.
PASADENA, Calif. – It never rains in Southern California.
But for the UCLA Bruins, it’s been pouring.
The 0-2 Bruins – who’ve been outscored 73-43 in their first two games – hope to end the winless drought against the University of New Mexico football team tonight.
“(This is a) UCLA team that is not off to the start that they wanted to,” UNM head football coach Jason Eck said.
UCLA dropped its season opener at home to a face familiar to Lobo fans: Utah quarterback Devon Dampier.
Dampier, the former UNM quarterback at 2024 First-Team All-MWC, torched the Bruins in Week 1.
Dampier, with head coach Kyle Whittingham and the Utah Utes, demolished UCLA 43-10 in the Rose Bowl.
He was an efficient 21-of-25 for 206 yards passing and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball 16 times for 87 yards, for 5.4 yards per carry. He also found the end zone on the ground once.
UCLA finds itself with back-to-back Mountain West Conference opponents to round out its non-conference schedule.
The Bruins fell at UNLV on Saturday, 30-23. UCLA was down 23-3 at halftime before the Bruins outscored the Rebels 20-7 in the second half.
Tennessee transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava led the second-half surge.
Iamaleava, who was a national story over the spring and summer for how he departed the University of Tennessee, threw for 255 yards on 29-of-41 passing and ran for one touchdown and threw for another.
Second-year UCLA head football coach and former Bruins running back DeShaun Foster said the early struggles have been self-inflicted wounds.
“A lot of it is just execution,” Foster said. “I think we are stopping ourselves more than the opponent is stopping us.”
This is a short week for both UNM and UCLA.
Foster said that the time frame doesn’t impact game preparation.
“We were able to get a good practice in and get the corrections in (on Sunday),” Foster said. “Nobody on the team was upset or anything. They understood it was a short week.”
While Foster and UCLA look for their first win in 2025, Eck found his during his first home game at University Stadium on Saturday.
The Lobos are fresh off a 32-22 victory over FCS foe Idaho State.
Despite being down in the fourth quarter, the Lobos scored 15 unanswered points for the 10-point win.
A Damon Bankston one-yard rush with 7:17 left in the game put the Lobos up for good over the Bengals, 25-22, and UNM never surrendered the lead in the final minutes.
UNM quarterback Jack Layne said that the Bruins have a comparable defense to Michigan's.
“They are good up front and in the back end but (have) a lot of transfers,” Layne said.
LOBOS NOT BEATING THE LOBOS
UNM has committed three penalties combined in the two games against Michigan and Idaho State.
The Lobos had one penalty for five yards at Michigan. Against Idaho State, they committed two penalties for 13 yards.
These penalty numbers are substantially better than the 2023 and 2024 UNM teams.
The Lobos led the nation with 119 penalties in 2023. The average was 9.9 per game, with 89.7 yards per game.
In 2024, the Lobos ranked second-to-last out of 134 teams. They averaged 9.3 per game.
UNM, under Eck, now leads the nation in fewest total penalties.
NOT A BOWL GAME
Despite playing in the Rose Bowl – not the Rose Bowl Game – this is the second meeting between UNM and UCLA.
The first meeting was in the 2002 Sega Sports Las Vegas Bowl.
UCLA defeated UNM, 27-13.
NEXT UP: New Mexico Lobos at UCLA Bruins
Time: Tonight, 8 p.m.
Location: The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Listen: Lobo Radio Network (96.3 FM/770 AM)
Watch: Big Ten Network
BETTING ODDS
SPREAD: UCLA -15.5
OVER/UNDER: 53.5
MONEY LINE: UCLA -630; UNM +430
