A team in need of a savior found one in the unlikeliest of places and most familiar of faces.
Jerry Neuheisel, the UCLA tight ends coach who was elevated to playcaller only four days before his winless team faced a top-10 opponent, dialed up an offensive plan that produced points on each of the Bruins’ first five drives.
The fun let up only momentarily on the way to UCLA’s stunning 42-37 victory over No. 7 Penn State on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl, fans providing their giddy verdict with a chant they unleashed from the opening drive through the fourth quarter.
“Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!”
The game turned tense late, requiring a defensive stop after UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava was stuffed on fourth down, giving the ball back to Penn State at the Bruins’ 32-yard line with two minutes left.
The Nittany Lions reached the nine before UCLA defensive back Scooter Jackson surged into the backfield and dropped quarterback Drew Allar for a three-yard loss with 37 seconds left.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) evades Penn State defensive end Chaz Coleman (19) to scramble for a gain on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
After Bruins punter Will Karoll intentionally stepped out of the back of the end zone for a safety to pull Penn State within five points, the Nittany Lions could not cross midfield before the game ended.
After the final play, Neuheisel was hoisted into the air by his grateful players, winless no more.
“He puts that belief in us that we can go out there and execute,” Iamaleava said after accounting for five touchdowns, “and he put together a great game plan for us.”
The question remains of whether this was a turning point or a temporary reprieve in a lost season, but at least for the moment everyone associated with the team could deeply exhale.
Neuheisel said he found out he would be calling plays at 5 p.m. Tuesday. He estimated that he’s had three hours of sleep since then, the Bruins still conducting walk-throughs to master the offense Saturday morning.
“We had two days to practice the new game plan,” Neuheisel said, and all they did was believe.”
Masterfully running the Neuheisel‘s offense was Iamaleava, who finally had something to show for his cross-country move from Tennessee that made him the talk of the offseason in college football.
“Big-time players make big-time plays, and that’s what he did out there,” UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper said while clutching the game ball.
UCLA wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer (3) celebrates with teammate Titus Mokiao-Atimalala (2) after making a touchdown catch against Penn State in the fourth quarter.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Iamealeava ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more as the Bruins (1-4 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) nearly doubled their previous high point total this season. Facing third and goal midway through the fourth quarter, Iamaleava dropped back before taking off and racing into the front right corner of the end zone. He then zipped a two-point conversion pass into the back of the end zone to Kwazi Gilmer that gave UCLA a 42-28 advantage.
In what might have qualified as his best day as a college player, Iamaleava completed 17 of 24 passes for 166 yards and ran 16 times for 128 yards, including a nifty 52-yard gain in which he spun away from a defender.
Given the circumstances, Neuheisel’s playcalling debut might have been a more valiant effort than his coming off the bench as UCLA’s quarterback in 2014 to lead his team to a comeback victory over Texas.
Remember, those Bruins were nationally ranked.
This version had been nationally lampooned while averaging 14.2 points a game on the way to four consecutive losses that led to the departures of coach DeShaun Foster, defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri. Sunseri’s leaving prompted the Bruins to elevate Neuheisel and bring in Noel Mazzone, his old UCLA offensive coordinator and boss for one season at Texas A&M, as an analyst and advisor to his old protege.
Together they devised a scheme that helped the Bruins roll up 446 yards of offense.
“Nobody in the world expected us to win, let’s be honest here,” UCLA safety Key Lawrence said.
The celebrating started at halftime, UCLA players leaping excitedly and flapping their arms as they ran toward the locker room after Mateen Bhaghani’s 54-yard field goal gave the Bruins a stunning 27-7 lead.
To that point, UCLA’s domination was as complete as its failures had been in losing its first four games. The Bruins scored on all five first-half drives, recovered an onside kick and outgained the Nittany Lions, 285-92, in total yardage.
UCLA wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer dives into the end zone on an 11-yard pass in the first half against Penn State.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Signs of what was to come started on the opening drive.
After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, UCLA quickly marched for a score on its opening drive. Gilmer took a short pass from Iamaleava and extended the ball across the goal line for an 11-yard touchdown that gave the Bruins a 7-0 advantage.
Those chants of “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” filled the stadium after UCLA took its first lead of the season after 244 minutes 34 seconds of football.
The fun was just getting started for the Bruins. Bhaghani immediately unfurled an onside kick that Kanye Clark recovered, leading to a field goal and a 10-0 cushion on a day that belonged to the blond-haired coach and lifelong Bruin whose debut as a playcaller figures to lead to many new opportunities.
“Just a special, special day,” Neuheisel said. “I don’t know where it would rank, I don’t know how to really put it into words, I just am glad I’m the one who gets to be in it right now.”