Nebraska beat UCLA 28-21 on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl behind a steely nerved performance from quarterback TJ Lateef in his starting debut.
Lateef, a true freshman from Compton, Calif., threw for 205 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-15 passing as the Huskers improved to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten, clinching a winning regular season for the first time since 2016.
Lateef dealt with a swarm of attention last week after 22-game starter Dylan Raiola, the sophomore former five-star prospect, suffered a broken fibula in the second half of a 21-17 loss against USC. Lateef entered in relief at home and led Nebraska to only three points in four second-half drives.
With a week to prepare for his homecoming game on Saturday night, Lateef looked like a veteran. He guided Nebraska to four touchdowns on its first four drives, much to the delight of a huge contingent of Cornhuskers fans in Pasadena.
The victory marked Nebraska’s first in the regular season on the West Coast since 2014.
Junior running back Emmett Johnson continued to serve as a workhorse, accumulating 232 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.
Here are some takeaways:
1. Nebraska kept Lateef on schedule all night. His first four drives covered 61, 75, 60 and 75 yards as the Huskers built a 28-7 lead early in the third quarter. Lateef completed his first 11 throws. He never tried to do too much.
The Huskers took head coach Matt Rhule’s midweek message to heart: They rallied around Lateef and pitched in collectively to make life easy for him.
He was efficient and smart with the ball. Lateef did not commit a turnover. He rushed five times for 31 yards. He showed composure in the face of pressure in the second half. When UCLA sent heat, the QB rolled out to hit Dane Key on a route to the sideline.
Lateef showed nice touch in finding a wide-open Johnson for a 40-yard touchdown on a wheel route to start the second half.
Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen declined to put Lateef in a difficult spot early in the fourth quarter, opting for a handoff to Johnson on third-and-13 after Lateef’s first two incompletions hit the hands of running back Mekhi Nelson and then Key.
But when the Huskers took possession with 4:47 to play, up seven points, Holgorsen trusted Lateef to throw two passes on the final drive. Nebraska gained three first downs and ran out the clock.
32 Touches
232 Total Yards
3 TDAmerica, meet Emmett Johnson. pic.twitter.com/DqrIQTpSXx
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) November 9, 2025
2. Johnson was spectacular. The junior running back entered Saturday with 1,002 rushing yards to lead all Power 4 backs. He registered his sixth 100-yard rushing effort of the season, with 129 yards on 28 carries, and his first game over 100 receiving yards, with 103 on three catches.
He took pressure off his quarterback and the Huskers’ injury-plagued offensive line. Johnson scored on the 40-yard wheel route, a 56-yard screen pass and a 1-yard plunge.
He deserves to earn first-team All-Big Ten recognition for his versatility and durability. In fact, he’s playing like an All-American late in the season.
3. UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava tormented the Nebraska defense with his playmaking ability. The Tennessee transfer extended plays en route to a 17-for-25 passing night for 191 yards, and he rushed for 86 yards on 15 attempts.
Iamaleava set the tone against the Blackshirts on the Bruins’ second drive, converting three third downs as UCLA chewed nearly 10 minutes of clock on a 75-yard march that evened the score at 7-7 early in the second quarter.
From there, when the Huskers got the best of the 6-foot-6, 215-pound sophomore, it was a notable victory. Keona Davis and Williams Nwaneri registered sacks. DeShon Singleton and Vincent Shavers teamed to record a fourth-down stop on a QB run in the first half that swung momentum in the Huskers’ favor as they jumped to a 21-7 halftime lead.
But Iamaleava largely had his way. UCLA finished 8 of 14 on third down. He engineered a 96-yard drive in the fourth quarter to cut Nebraska’s lead to 28-21 with 4:54 to play.
4. Nebraska struggled to defend the QB run against Brendan Sorsby of Cincinnati, Bryce Underwood of Michigan, Aidan Chiles of Michigan State and USC’s Jayden Maiava.
Iamaleava is just the latest to expose the Huskers.
UCLA rushed for 157 yards on 37 attempts without getting much on the ground from its running backs. Penn State and Iowa will watch the tape and salivate.
Regardless, Nebraska enters an idle week ahead of its final two games in a place it hasn’t sat in nine years: with seven wins and a chance to finish strong in November.