UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava did not start the second half Saturday at Oregon, and he was on the sideline as the No. 21 Bruins secured a 17-15 upset of the No. 13 Ducks.
Backup Ty Dieffenbach orchestrated the victory for the 5-0 Bruins, who moved to 3-0 in the Big Ten. Dieffenbach completed 3 of 6 passes for 43 yards and a touchdown in a sloppy game that featured 10 turnovers, including seven for the Ducks (3-2, 1-1).
On a scramble in the second quarter, Iamaleava landed awkwardly on his leg while being tackled and stayed down. After being looked at by trainers, he was able to jog off the field.
As Iamaleava was tackled, the replay on the TV broadcast showed Oregon defensive lineman Bear Alexander twisting Iamaleava's helmet while going down. Once Iamaleava was down, Alexander appeared to punch him and struck his helmet. The play was not called for a penalty.
After Iamaleava jogged off, Dieffenbach threw an incompletion. Iamaleava was then able to return to the game. On the ensuing play, however, he threw an interception, his third turnover of the first half.
When the Bruins emerged for the second half, Dieffenbach, a senior from Cal Poly who had not seen any action all season, was front and center.
"Nico wasn't close to being able to come back today," UCLA coach Bob Chesney said. "I thought he got hit in the thigh, but there might be a little more to it. We'll have to figure that out as we go through the process tonight and tomorrow."
Iamaleava, who has started every game since arriving at UCLA from Tennessee in spring 2025, has thrown for 982 yards and four touchdowns this season.
"We're really on a week-to-week basis here, right? This week, we felt like we had to run a little bit more with the quarterback, and that's where I thought Ty had a really nice week in that person, in that spot," Chesney said of choosing Dieffenbach to play ahead of UCLA's other backup, Madden Iamaleava.
"I'm sure if Madden went in there, he'd do a phenomenal job as well. But I thought, you know, Ty was the guy we decided on at this moment. ... He did a really good job, and Madden's going to be there the whole way through as well, competing and fighting for that position, with or without Nico."
