No. 12 UCLA football (5-0, 3-0 Big Ten) returns home to face Wisconsin (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday afternoon after securing its first ranked victory of the season against then-No. 13 Oregon last weekend. The Bruins now boast their best AP ranking since 2022 and will face a Badgers squad led by coach Luke Fickell, who matches up against a familiar foe in defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler – who coached under Fickell for six seasons. Here are the game predictions from Sports editor Jacob Nguyen as well as guest predictions from co-Copy chief Amelia Chief and Arts editor Presley Liu.

Jacob Nguyen
Sports editor
Prediction: UCLA 21, Wisconsin 14

I’d be willing to trade in my own right knee – which suffered a torn meniscus on two different occasions this year – if it meant senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava could return to the field.

[Related: Nico Iamaleava expected to miss remainder of UCLA football season with knee injury]

While my own injuries weren’t sustained doing something as cool as upsetting a top-ranked conference rival – one came from getting a little too overzealous on a hack squat, and the other was in an intramural basketball game I eventually lost – I persevered through the mishaps and can confidently say I’ve bounced back.

And I have just as much confidence that the Bruins can do the same, even if the person under center isn’t No. 9.

Senior quarterback Ty Dieffenbach checked into Oregon game and almost threw a perfect dot to sophomore wide receiver Brian Rowe Jr. on the very first snap of his UCLA career. I honestly thought he had it – I mean, the drop was far less on Dieffenbach than it was on Rowe.

The Cal Poly SLO transfer’s game wasn’t perfect, but the tape was encouraging – with Dieffenbach even connecting with fifth-year Wayne Knight on a nine-yard touchdown later in the game. And so long as the Bruins wield one of the country’s best defenses and rushing attacks, they should remain contenders in every game they have left on their slate.

Don’t get me wrong, Iamaleava’s loss is devastating. But it’s hard to say that he was the biggest reason UCLA has been winning games.

As a statistics major, the best way I can frame this situation is with margins of error. With Iamaleava, the Bruins know they have someone who can make decent reads and scramble for yards if the intended play breaks down – giving you a little bit more room to breathe. Without him, that’s probably closer to zero.

In other words, winning is far from impossible, but it’ll take a near-perfect game from everyone else outside of the quarterback to secure a 6-0 record against a squad that’s right outside the AP poll’s top 25. And that’s especially the case against a top-10 passing defense that will make life difficult for Dieffenbach in what should be his first full game for the Bruins.

So while I had to take a break from hitting leg day for a little bit, expect UCLA to keep attacking the ground as they’ve been doing – perhaps using their legs a little bit more than normal this time.

Amelia Chief
Copy chief
Prediction: UCLA 27, Wisconsin 23

What goes up must come down.

With UCLA losing its starting quarterback for possibly the entire season, it is only logical to believe the Bruins’ unbeaten streak will come to a natural end Saturday. The all-but-inevitable first loss may even be less crushing because it is expected.

Yet, I believe UCLA can prevail.

Iamaleava sat out the entirety of the second half against Oregon. Though UCLA was outscored 9-7, it held on and forced three incompletions as the last minute ran out. And this was against an opponent ranked eight places higher in front of a rowdy away crowd of 59,262.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, will come to the Rose Bowl to meet a Bruin faithful more motivated than ever in recent years, after Bob Chesney became the first head coach in UCLA history to start 5-0.

Under center for the Badgers is Colton Joseph, who transferred to Madison after two seasons with Old Dominion. When his previous squad faced James Madison last year – then home to Chesney and 11 current Bruins, including UCLA’s current rushing yards leader, Knight – it was dealt a whopping 63-27 loss. Knight rushed for 74 yards in that matchup, a mark he has surpassed in all games but the opener this season.

While it may seem like a reach to say an Iamaleava-less UCLA can win against a Wisconsin squad riding a four-game win streak and a bye week, if the Bruins can overcome the odds against Oregon, then I believe they can best the Badgers.

Come Saturday, what is going up will continue to touch down.

Presley Liu
Arts editor
Prediction: UCLA 24, Wisconsin 17

There are few notifications worse than an ESPN alert that interrupts a perfectly good afternoon, especially when that alert announces that UCLA football’s season might be in shambles.

Finding out Iamaleava would likely miss the rest of the season was a particularly cruel way to ruin a peaceful Monday. But while the Bruins may have lost their signal-caller, they have not lost their shot at a 6-0 start.

UCLA will face Wisconsin on Saturday without Iamaleava, who leads the Bruins in passing yards. Fans will look toward backup Dieffenbach and sophomore Madden Iamaleava to fill the void.

Fortunately for Chesney’s squad, their sixth-ranked rushing offense and top-tier defense should give them more than a fighting chance against the Badgers. While Wisconsin’s secondary could make things difficult for UCLA’s replacement quarterback, the Bruins’ rushing game led by Knight looks to offer a way around that. The Duke-turned-Bruin leads the team with 548 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

Wisconsin’s bye week may have given the Badgers extra time to prepare, but UCLA’s momentum and defense should carry it through. After all, Wisconsin has yet to face an opponent with something quite like the Bruins’ rushing attack, and its 4-1 record includes a season-opening 41-13 loss to Notre Dame. Though its four victories sound somewhat impressive on paper, three of them have arrived in contests against unranked teams – Western Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Michigan State.

After holding then-No. 13 Oregon to a meager 15 points last week, UCLA’s defense should be more than capable of keeping Wisconsin’s offense in check.

Though quarterback uncertainty may make Bruin fans sweat a little, the No. 12 team should still escape the Rose Bowl with a win.