UCLA was now 3-6 on the season after a tough 28-21 loss to Nebraska at home. A game in which they were 1.5-point favorites in and had a chance to get to four wins. Which would give them a possible chance to get to six wins and miraculously make a bowl game after an 0-4 start. But now they were 3-6 and heading on the road to play No. 1 Ohio State. A game in which they would have to play without their starting quarterback. As Nico Iamaleava was out with a concussion.
The Bruins would start Luke Duncan at quarterback, which he would throw his first college pass in this game. He didn’t have the most efficient game but was not bad for a player that was told he was starting two hours before the game. Going against the best defense in the nation and on the road. You have to applaud the effort that he gave in this game. He was 16-23 on the night for 154 yards and a touchdown. Not turning the ball over through the air. He was also able to move the offense well in the second half.
UCLA with be without quarterback Nico Iamaleava today at Ohio State, sources confirm to ESPN. He’s dealing with a concussion that occurred in the Nebraska game and will not play on Saturday. Redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan will get his first career start. On3 first reported. pic.twitter.com/5wbMLIqp4I
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 15, 2025
The UCLA defense continued to struggle. As you could see how big the talent gap was between Ohio State and UCLA. The final score was 48-10 and Ohio State moved the ball up and down the field. They had 440 total yards compared to UCLA’s 222. Ohio State was able to get 222 yards on the ground to help lead the way. If they didn’t bleed clock late in the game, this would have been an even worse score. Ohio State was also playing without multiple offensive starters.
Third TD of the season for @Masterkwazi and first of @lukeduncanQB's career! 🙌
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) November 16, 2025
Ohio State 41, UCLA 7
End of 3rd Quarter
📺: NBC
📲: https://t.co/W60dIgaIXd#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/nLhPGFuFXr
UCLA would move to 3-7 on the season with this loss. They were looking to find any consistency that they could, knowing that many changes were coming after the season. Tim Skipper was not going to be returning as coach. His chances came crashing down with the three-game stretch against Indiana, Nebraska and Ohio State. At this point in the season, they were just looking to play hard for their interim head coach. Even a bowl game was far out of the question. There were even talks that Iamaleava would pack it in but he stuck it out until the very end.