Nico Iamaleava Takes Blame for Struggles in UCLA Loss vs. Utah After Historic Transfer

Nico Iamaleava had a season opener to forget in his first game for UCLA, but the quarterback shouldered the responsibility for his team's 43-10 loss to Utah.

"I didn't execute at a high level," Iamaleava said after Saturday's defeat, per ESPN's Paolo Uggetti. "I gotta be better. We all gotta be better."

The Tennessee transfer went 11-of-22 for 136 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also faced constant pressure and was sacked four times while struggling to establish a rhythm with his receivers against a promising Utah defense.

While he added 47 yards on the ground and made a handful of impressive plays, it wasn't what Bruins fans were hoping to see from the 5-star prospect and No. 2 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

"We take this as a learning experience," Iamaleava said. "We're gonna face many more tough opponents, and we gotta be ready."

All eyes were on the quarterback after he generated headlines this offseason with his decision to transfer from Tennessee after leading the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff.

In April, ESPN's Chris Low, Max Olson and Adam Rittenberg reported Tennessee sources said Iamaleava's representatives, including his father, attempted to negotiate a pay increase to approximately $4 million from $2.4 million in negotiations with the school's NIL collective. 

However, Low, Olson and Rittenberg reported sources close to the signal-caller said they were not looking for $4 million.

Tennessee ended up landing UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar as its starting quarterback from the transfer portal, and things went much better on his end in the season opener. The Volunteers defeated Syracuse 45-26 as he completed 16-of-28 passes for 247 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions to go with 34 rushing yards.

The Volunteers made the CFP last season while the Bruins went 5-7, so the starting points weren't exactly the same for the two quarterbacks.

But that surely didn't stop Tennessee fans from celebrating the respective outcomes Saturday.