This post was updated Oct. 19 at 10:53 p.m.

Students were greeted with an email from interim head coach Tim Skipper on Wednesday, offering all new students free tickets to the Bruins’ homecoming game.

And to that, people responded in numbers.

UCLA’s dining halls were packed with fans dressed head to toe in blue and gold hours before kickoff. Tailgates clamored with Bruin fans of all ages. And the Rose Bowl teemed with over 35,000 people – the second-highest total all season.

“Shoutout to the fans that came out,” said redshirt sophomore defensive back Rodrick Pleasant. “We hope to see them out in two weeks, when they come out for the Nebraska game. It’s been electric. It’s been more and more traction. They’ve been helping us out a lot out there, being able to see them and them go wild when we make plays. It’s been exciting.”

And the Bruins gave them reason to come.

After scoring 13 points in the final six minutes of the game – including a game-winning drive that started at the UCLA 27-yard line with just 35 seconds left on the clock – UCLA football (3-4, 3-1 Big Ten) bested Maryland (4-3, 1-3) 20-17 on Saturday night in a fourth-quarter thriller in Pasadena. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava – who was helped off the field with an apparent leg injury in the penultimate Bruin offensive drive – generated 68 yards in 33 seconds, leading to a 23-yard game-winning field goal from junior kicker Mateen Bhaghani. 

“The main thing that coach Skip (Skipper) emphasized this week is, ‘The standard is the standard.’” Bhaghani said. “Each week, we’re trying to reset our standard and just play the best ball we can in all three phases of ball – offense, defense, special teams. The efforts of coach Skip and Nico (Iamaleava) trying to bring the team together, it’s working and we’re going to keep it rolling.”

The victory marks the Bruins’ third straight win after starting the 2025 campaign with four consecutive losses.

While UCLA’s final three drives birthed victory in the dying embers of the Saturday evening contest, the offense struggled with cohesion throughout the affair.

Iamaleava turned the ball over three times – one fumble and two interceptions including a pick six – marking the first time the Bruins gave the ball away since Sept. 12. 

The turnovers all came at costly intervals as well, with the pick-six giving the Terrapins their first touchdown of the game and a 10-7 lead. Additionally, the fumble – which resulted from a strip sack when UCLA was trailing in the fourth – and second interception came near midfield or in Maryland territory.

“I’m not going to put it all on Nico (Iamaleava),” Skipper said. “There are a lot of things that happened. Maryland did a great job of giving us some different looks. They mixed up stuff, too. They did a really good job of that.”

To add insult to injury, Iamaleava posted just 99 yards through three quarters of play and the offense looked nothing like the high-powered unit that’s pummeled opposing defenses the last two weeks.

But when the world needed him most, Iamaleava rose to the occasion.

The signal-caller put together 144 offensive yards across the Bruins final three offensive possessions, garnering 13 points and the game-winning field drive.

“It just shows how much of a leader he is,” said junior wide receiver Mikey Matthews. “He definitely wanted to be in that last drive to make sure he ended it out and won us the game. But he came back and pushed through. That just shows he definitely has that dog in him, no matter what.”

Iamaleava’s fourth quarter reemergence was only made possible by a stout Bruin defense that put in its most dominant performance of the season, limiting the offense to just 10 points while forcing two turnovers and a fourth down stop in the red zone.

The UCLA defense made its presence felt early, forcing a three-and-out on Maryland’s first drive, but signal-caller Malik Washington responded, converting four third downs on his next possession that ate up the last 7:20 of the first quarter. 

The Terrapins would have faced a red-zone fourth down, had it not been for a pass interference penalty on Pleasant, which brought the opposing offense to the two-yard line.

And yet the Bruins’ front seven stood tall.

Redshirt senior linebacker JonJon Vaughns and redshirt sophomore defensive back Cole Martin combined for back-to-back tackles-for-loss against leading Maryland rusher DeJuan Williams on what was initially first-and-goal territory, forcing the Terrapins to settle for a field goal.

“It was a whole team effort – you can name a lot of people that contributed to this thing,” Skipper said. “We talked strain, we talked grinding, every single play matters – we preach that. But literally tonight, every single play mattered.”

UCLA’s defensive line pressured Washington all game and the secondary blanketed Maryland’s offensive threats, limiting the Terrapin offense to just 210 passing yards on a 48% completion percentage. 

UCLA’s defensive masterclass display came against a signal-caller who leads all true freshmen in total passing yards and touchdowns.

The defense was once again challenged halfway through the third quarter when Washington zipped a throw to Williams for a 41-yard completion that culminated at UCLA’s seven-yard mark. 

After getting as close as two yards from what could have been a Terrapin lead, junior defensive back Andre Jordan Jr. almost picked off a target to tight end Dorian Fleming on fourth down, leading to a change in possession.

Following another forced three-and-out, including a near interception by redshirt senior defensive back Key Lawrence, the home crowd ignited in a way that has yet to be seen in 2025.

“We all have the same why,” Matthews said. “We all dealt with adversity at the beginning of the season. We didn’t want to start the season the way we started, and once we started getting the ball rolling, we feel the momentum and we’re just going to keep using that every game and every week.”

Even with the offensive challenges, the crowd’s energy pulsated throughout the affair.

And the cheering was not without reason.

“During that fourth quarter, the fans were ecstatic and into the game and being loud for us,” said redshirt senior running back Anthony Frias II. “I know that contributed a lot. We’re grateful. With the score, the student section was jumping.”

Just over two minutes into UCLA’s initial second-quarter possession, redshirt senior running back Frias II garnered the Bruins’ longest ground play of the season with a 55-yard scoring run.

Frias II’s score was the first of his career and gave the Bruins the lead after a scoreless first frame – a full circle moment for the lifelong Rose Bowl attendee.

“It means the world to me,” Frias II said. “God is good. I’m so grateful for God and him blessing me and letting me live out that dream. When I came here with my dad to watch that Rose Bowl game, that’s just something we did, and it’s amazing to see it come to fruition. I’m blessed and so happy that all the work that’s been going in. It’s finally coming.”

Despite the arena’s chatter and excitement, 15 total punts between both squads were demonstrative of a slow offensive duel that only heated up in the fourth quarter. 

Maryland’s first offensive touchdown didn’t come until the last minute of regulation, during a quarter in which both squads combined for 17 points, leading to a tied game with 40 seconds left.

And that was just enough time for late-game heroics.