Titus Mokiao-Atimalala and Kwazi Gilmer celebrate Bruins' first touchdown Saturday.
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
UCLA Football Named Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Team of the Week
October 06, 2025 | Football
DALLAS โ On the heels of its improbable 42-37 win against seventh-ranked Penn State, UCLA was named the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Team of the Week Monday by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers of America (FWAA).
A UCLA football team had not taken down a top-10 counterpart since Sept. 25, 2010, when those unranked Bruins beat No. 7 Texas 34-12 in Austin, Texas. Saturday's top-10 win was UCLA's first at Rose Bowl Stadium since it knocked off No. 9 Oregon 16-0 in 2007. The current Bruins also became the first team since 1985 to defeat a top-10 team after entering the game with a 0-4 record.
UCLA erupted for a season-high 42 points in its first-ever matchup with the Nittany Lions at the Rose Bowl. Behind interim head coach Tim Skipper and offensive play caller Jerry Neuheisel โ who was serving in that role for the first time โ the Bruins racked up a season-high 269 rushing yards. That represented the most ground yards by a Penn State opponent since Oct. 15, 2022.
Individually, quarterback Nico Iamaleava had a standout performance. The Long Beach, Calif. native matched a program record for signal callers with three rushing touchdowns, while passing for two more. The five total scores marked a career high for Iamaleava. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 166 yards and gained 128 yards โ another career high โ on 16 carries.
This is the fifth time for UCLA to receive the award by the FWAA and the first time since 2021 when it beat No. 16 LSU at the Rose Bowl. Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2025 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Pop-Tarts "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
A UCLA football team had not taken down a top-10 counterpart since Sept. 25, 2010, when those unranked Bruins beat No. 7 Texas 34-12 in Austin, Texas. Saturday's top-10 win was UCLA's first at Rose Bowl Stadium since it knocked off No. 9 Oregon 16-0 in 2007. The current Bruins also became the first team since 1985 to defeat a top-10 team after entering the game with a 0-4 record.
UCLA erupted for a season-high 42 points in its first-ever matchup with the Nittany Lions at the Rose Bowl. Behind interim head coach Tim Skipper and offensive play caller Jerry Neuheisel โ who was serving in that role for the first time โ the Bruins racked up a season-high 269 rushing yards. That represented the most ground yards by a Penn State opponent since Oct. 15, 2022.
Individually, quarterback Nico Iamaleava had a standout performance. The Long Beach, Calif. native matched a program record for signal callers with three rushing touchdowns, while passing for two more. The five total scores marked a career high for Iamaleava. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 166 yards and gained 128 yards โ another career high โ on 16 carries.
This is the fifth time for UCLA to receive the award by the FWAA and the first time since 2021 when it beat No. 16 LSU at the Rose Bowl. Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2025 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Pop-Tarts "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.
Players Mentioned
QB
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