When a team loses its starting quarterback and a true freshman steps in, all of the focus goes right there.
Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola was out for the season, back home in Lincoln on Saturday night. TJ Lateef was at the Rose Bowl, preparing to face UCLA. Plus, the Huskers hit the road with the same expectations, not diminished ones.
And while most of the attention understandably went to Lateef and how the freshman would play in his first career start, the Nebraska defense had a monumental task, too. The Huskers had to step up against versatile and talented UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
If anyone could blow up the Huskers’ road trip, it was Iamaleava, a sophomore who transferred from Tennessee, where he led the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff last season.
“I thought No. 9, Nico, was fantastic,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said after the Huskers’ 28-21 victory at the Rose Bowl Saturday night.
“Just an absolute warrior. That [second] drive we hit him so many times I didn’t know how long he could do that. He just did it all night. Got a lot of respect for him.”
Huskers senior rover DeShon Singleton stepped up, perhaps, the most. He had a game-high 11 tackles, which also was his career high. He had a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. He seemed to be all over the field.
“I still got some stuff,” Singleton said when asked if this were one of his better games. “Obviously, one or two plays I wish I could take back. I played to my standard. I played hard, played fast and those things come.
Nebraska’s DeShon Singleton chases UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
“I feel like a lot of people wrote us off, going on the road and losing our starting quarterback. Just coming off an ‘L’, I felt like a lot of people wrote us off.
“We came out here and attacked. We came out here to Cali and said what we were going to do.”
Singleton made an enormous tackle for loss on Iamaleava that halted a second-quarter UCLA drive and opened the door for another Nebraska touchdown.
On UCLA’s second drive, the Bruins went 75 yards in 17 plays for a tying touchdown, using 9 minutes, 49 seconds. It looked like bully ball, the Bruins controlling the ball and the clock and maybe wearing down the Huskers’ defense.
The Bruins, down 14-7, were at it again on their next drive. They went 39 yards in nine plays, gobbling up another 4:34 on the clock. From the Nebraska 38-yard line, Singleton dropped the 6-foot-6, 215-pound Iamaleava for a two-yard loss on a fourth-and-one play.
“It was extremely big,” Singleton said about his fourth-down play. “I felt like getting off the field on a fourth-down play, that’s a seven-point play.
“That can create a lot of momentum for the offense and for our defense. Getting off the field in four-down territory is amazing.”
Nebraska’s next drive resulted in another touchdown and a 21-7 Huskers advantage.
“We were gassed [after UCLA’s long drive] but at the end of the day that’s our fault that we’re gassed,” Singleton said.
“We have to get off the field. Long drives come, and we can’t convert on third down, and we just have to get off the field.”
Iamaleava did his part, gaining 106 yards rushing (adjusted to 86 net yards). He completed 17-of-25 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. He led the Bruins to two second-half touchdowns to make the game uncomfortably close for Husker fans.
“This is a quarterback that uses his legs and extends the play,” Singleton said. “That’s very dangerous.
“It can make an offense go from bad to good, and good to great just by a quarterback using his legs and extend plays.
“As a defense, obviously, we have ways to contain that and sometimes he just got away from us. He’s been a D-I football player and he’s here for a reason and he just made his plays.”
UCLA accumulated 348 yards of total offense. Nebraska has held each of its 10 opponents to fewer than 400 yards, the first time the Huskers have accomplished that since 2009, when they held their first 11 opponents under 400 yards.
Singleton had plenty of help. Redshirt freshman safety Rex Guthrie had six tackles, senior defensive back Ceyair Wright had four tackles and redshirt freshman defensive end Williams Nwaneri had a sack, giving him a team-leading 2.5 sacks this season.
The Huskers are now 7-3, 4-3 in the Big Ten. They have matched their victory total of last season with two regular-season games and a bowl game remaining.
There’s no doubt that Lateef, running back Emmett Johnson and the Huskers’ offense had a major part in the victory. But the Nebraska defense had its say, too.
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