Postgame Quotes – UCLA 20, Maryland 17
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 20, Maryland 17
Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl)
October 18, 2025
Tim Skipper, UCLA football interim head coach
opening statement
“Tough games, you are going to need everybody. We preach all the time, you never know when your moment is going to happen. You just keep working hard, you keep executing, keep sawing wood, and when your opportunity comes take full opportunity of that. It was a whole team effort – you can name a lot of people that contributed to this thing. We talked strain, we talked grinding, every single play matters, we preach that. But literally tonight, every single played mattered. Even the squib on the kickoff, they start lateraling, your heart stops dropping. Someone has to made a play and make a big hit, and then we are out of there. We thought we were done, and they told us there are two seconds left – we have to go back and execute. It took everybody. Frias is a hard-working dude. He’s buried on the depth chart at the beginning of the year, but he just kept working – never complained. He had his opportunity tonight and he took full advantage of it tonight. Nico is the ultimate competitor. He was down on the ground, he was down and feeling really bad, and he got up and kind of walked it off. Then they said you’re okay, and he said I’m going. He went out there and led a phenomenal drive. He stuck in that pocket and delivered the ball, got us down there – big run, and then we executed the field goal. That was awesome to see guys keep fighting and straining. Nobody pointed fingers, that’s the main thing. It got tight. It was really tight down there on the sidelines. Nobody was pointing fingers. We were just like we are a play away, we are a play away. We are almost there. They came true and we figured out a way to finish it off.”
on the Bruins’ defense
“We definitely would want to have that drive back. There are some plays we wish we could get back. We threw a lot at those guys this week. We wanted to stop the run. And then when we got in the longer yardage stuff, we had all kinds of defense, and the guys learned it in a short amount of time and we executed it pretty well. I think we could have had a couple more turnovers out there, that we left hanging. But the guys bought in. We kept another offense under 400 yards, they had 337 yards. We played four quarters, just one drive got away from us. We can build from that and we will keep on working.
on keeping Maryland quarterback Malik Washington quiet
“Like I was saying, he is a great player. I want to tip my hat to Maryland. They came out here on a long trip and they went out there and fought. Our whole goal was to see if we could confuse them as much as possible. In order to do that, our guys had to learn a lot. We’re looking at splits, we’re looking at formations, and then we are getting into the defense we want to get in. It’s pretty advanced. I’m happy and excited that we could do that. It was good to see that tonight, and we will keep building from that. Without having a spring ball and a training camp with the defense, to see how much we had in for this game, and then to execute it, is phenomenal.”
on defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle
“He taught me defense. 1997 is when I met him. I’m a freshman playing football, and he taught me how you play defense. That friendship has just kept on building and building. It was awesome for me to actually work with him and learn even more. I’m still learning from him, it has not stopped at all. He’s the godfather of defense. He thinks up of all these schemes. He hammers film, he watches all day and night, and then we come up with these plans, and we execute them. We were only in this thing for a month, and the guys just get that, that’s a compliment to coach Coyle and the defensive staff, teaching the guys and getting them to execute it. I’m very pleased with the defense, I’m pleased with everyone fighting through it. But the defense kept us in it and we got it done.
on his reaction to Nico Iamaleava going down in the fourth quarter
“I just took a deep breath. I’ve been around football enough to know sometimes when it looks the worst, it is not – and sometimes when it doesn’t, it is. You just take a deep breath, let the medical staff do their jobs and we figure out where we are. I know with Nico when I saw him start to walk off and his face started to come back normal, I was like we have a shot here. We have a shot. Then they cleared him, and I was like, let's go. I was hoping we didn’t have to get to this, where he needed that drive. But we ended up needing it, and he executed it. Ultimate competitors compete, he didn’t want to come out. He went out there and he did his thing.”
on his team being able to thrive the last few weeks
“I think it’s all about belief, belief. The guys believe, they believe. There is nothing that happens throughout the game that is going to take away confidence. You don’t really know that until you get in a tight game like that. I found out today that the guys believe. I kind of knew that, but when you get in a tight game like this, and everything is not going your way and all these things, and you find a way to pull it out, and nobody pointed fingers. That tells you something. I think belief is the key word. The guys believed all the way to the end and I’m glad we got it done.”
on continuing the momentum, and motivating this football team
“We talked about things we needed to do to win. Our whole motivation this week was the standard is the standard, and that’s playing winning football, executing and doing what we needed to do. Disciplined football also, that goes hand in hand. We have identified out style of play. Now we need to match it every single Saturday. That will continue every single week. Preach from day one, always be on the rise, that is our standard, and next is going to need to be better than it was today.”
on Coach Skipper’s coaching history
“My dad coached forever and he’s retired now. My brother is coaching with the Buffalo Bills. My parents and my brothers, all of that is just flowing through me. When we’re sitting at dinner, we’re just talking ball. We’re talking through situations. All of that stuff just goes through your mind. My dad is a big clock management guy. The clock management sheet that I have, which is in my pocket right now, is his. As soon as the game got under five minutes, I just held that sheet the whole time. It just brings me back to all of those memories. I can hear my dad saying ‘Just work the game.’ It worked man, and the final result was in our favor.”
on Nico Iamaleava bouncing back from a difficult start to the game
“I’m not going to put it all on Nico. Three are a lot of things that happened. Maryland did a great job of giving us a lot of different looks. Our ground game was hit or miss. It was tough sledding out there. But for the whole entire offense, those guys had to stick together. It’s the whole unit. 11 guys and one heartbeat. Nico was being a leader. The leader went down, and maybe he’s out. All of that stuff matters. The belief was still. All three phases had moments that were good. We won this as a team.”
on next week’s Big Noon Kickoff against Indiana, in Bloomington
“To be honest, what’s hitting me, is that a month ago I was talking to you guys and if you told me we’d be in a Big Noon game, I’d be telling you that you’re just trying to mess with me. That is awesome. It means we’re doing something right. We’ll get ready to go. We’ll leave on Thursday and we’ll play on Saturday. We’re going have a good week of practice, and then we’re going to battle it out.”
UCLA kicker Mateen Bhaghani
on the game-winning kick
“It was a very special moment. I’m super appreciative of our offense – Nico [Iamaleava] and [Anthony] Frias really putting their heart out on the line and getting me down there, and Salem [Abdul-Wahab] and Cash [Peterman] just making it easy for me – a little tap-in kick.”
on resetting after his earlier miss
“I always try to remind myself just flush those moments, flush those kicks. It’s very hard sometimes, but I knew I had more in the game. Coach Mac [Bailey McElwain] and Coach [Anthony] Goliver, both my special teams coaches, just told me ‘keep your head in it; you’re going to have another one. keep your head in going to have another one.’ And I really just believed and kept my head down.”
on what has allowed the team to come together as a team
“I think the main thing that Coach Skip emphasized this week is ‘The standard is the standard.’ Each week we’re trying to reset our standard and play the best ball we can in all three phases of ball – offense, defense and special teams. I think the efforts of Coach Skip and Nico [Iamaleava] trying to bring the team together, I think it’s working, and we’re going to keep it rolling.”
on one particular moment where they had to strain
“For me, I’d say that second kick after I missed that first one. Just really focused on the details and just tried to be as intentional as I can.”
on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle video that the coaches played for the team
“The biggest thing is every week we’re trying to apply pressure. And whatever it is, whoever we’re against, it doesn’t matter. It’s about us and what we can do on that field. So I think that’s the main message of these little videos they’ve been putting together.”
UCLA wide receiver Mikey Matthews
on Nico Iamaleava coming back from injury
“It just shows how much of leader he is. He definitely wanted to be in that last drive to make sure he ended it out and won us the game. But he came back and pushed through. That just shows he definitely has that dawg in him no matter what.”
on what has allowed the team to come together as a team
“We all have the same why. We all dealt with adversity at the beginning of the season. We didn’t want to start the season the way we started, and once we started getting the ball rolling, we feel the momentum and we’re just going to keep using that every game and every week.”
on being a team of destiny
“We’re just going to take it one game at a time. We’ve got Indiana next week on the road, so that’s going to be a hard game, but we’ve definitely got to take care of them and see how that goes.”
on the excitement of having the Noon kickoff spotlight
“Just ready enough to wake up and go play ball. That’s all that matters.”
on one particular moment where they had to strain
“The whole game.”
on waiting for the one moment for the offense to get on track
“We’ve just got to keep staying positive. Everyone has games like those where the offense is not clicking but the defense is holding. We’re on the sidelines saying ‘the defense is bailing us out, so we’ve got to get something going quick.’ We’re not even getting in field goal range for Mateen. It just was hired. I think we were pinned on the 10-yard line two or three times. Backed-up offense is tough, but it’s something we’ve got to work on.”
on his touchdown
“I just saw man coverage and I knew I was going to score. So I was happy to see that. I knew Nico and I were going to connect. We had a similar look in practice where we also connected, so I think we both knew I was going to score on that touchdown.”
UCLA running back Anthony Frias II
on his big runs and having a dream come true
“It means the world to me. God is good, I am just so grateful. When I came here with my dad to watch that Rose Bowl game, it is amazing to see it come to fruition. I am blessed and so happy that all the work that has been going on is finally coming, and I was able to get an opportunity and make the most out of it. Just thankful for my coaches for letting me do that tonight.”
on the touchdown run and the big run with 30 seconds to go
“It’s just a mentality, and being able to have the opportunity today. I was just trying to make the most of it. When I was going through the runs, just making sure I run hard and keep my legs going and have a high knee drive. It was a moment that I was able to capitalize on, and I’m just thankful that I got an opportunity to do that here. I’m grateful to UCLA for seeing that and letting the hard work speak for itself, and actually letting me step on that field tonight.”
on getting carries tonight
“It feels amazing. I am grateful, that’s the main thing. It just feels good to finally be balling again, and showing what I can do. I’m just grateful for the staff, I’m grateful for the staff, I’m grateful for the moment, and I’m trying to soak it in. Then tomorrow comes around and get ready for next week.”
on the fans at the Rose Bowl
“You can tell in the fourth quarter the fans were into the game, and being loud for us. I know that contributed a lot, and we are just grateful. With the score, the student section was jumping, it was crazy to see them go crazy. To see all the students there and the fans there, that’s something that we feed off of, and we’re grateful it was a good turnout and we were able to capitalize for them, and get a win for the fans too.”
UCLA defensive back Rodrick Pleasant
on disrupting Maryland’s quarterback
“We took this game with pride. We knew it was going to be on us, they throw the ball a lot. That was our motto this week, put it on us, we have to do what we have to do. The guys played really good. I’m happy for Scooter and the rest of the guys. It was an exciting game. I can’t wait to watch it back.”
on the fourth and goal stop
“The first thing I heard, I heard the crowd go crazy. Then I saw the clip, and Andre Jordan is a great player. He made a spectacular play. Two weeks in a row, he’s playing at a high level. He’s forcing me to play really well. Just being competitive, he’s making plays – I got to make plays and we pride ourselves on that.”
on the fans showing out
“Shout out to the fans, they came out. We hope to see them out in two weeks when they come out for the Nebraska game. It’s been electric, it’s been more and more traction, they’ve been helping us a lot out there.”
Maryland head coach Michael Locksley
opening statement
“I give credit to Coach Skipper and his staff and his team. They fought for four quarters, they battled. They’re a tough opponent, they’re playing together, and playing for each other. Obviously, we’re disappointed, but I can tell you we’re not discouraged. We’ve lost three Big Ten games by a combined 10 points in the last three weeks. I’m going to ask what I need to do and what we need to do to be able to finish these games. We have a growth mindset. We have to do better. I thought our defense played lights out. They played well enough for us to win. It’s disappointing because it’s execution that we need to get fixed. We have the bye week coming up and I’m going to evaluate everything that we do, starting with myself. We’ll do whatever we have to do to put us in a position to compete and find a way to get back on the right track.”
on the team’s inability to close games in the fourth quarter
“We spend a lot of time trying to answer the ‘Whats’. Part of it is getting all three phases to play complementary to each other. That will help us. For the second week in a row, Chicago called in and we lose a player. The flag on the field was coming from Chicago.”
on losing players to targeting calls
“I’m not a victim. I’m going to have ask what I have to do going forward. It’s my job to coach the football team and I’m going to stick to that.”
on the attempt to get the offense back to the form it showed early in the season
“We missed some easy throws, and the receivers just sat on a throw, and we threw it behind them. Sometimes we didn’t make the catch. In the past, we’ll have to see what we did earlier in the year to get Malik [Washington] going. What we’re seeing is not allowing to get the explosives going over the top, and it’s tough to get a young quarterback to find that rhythm. We got to execute to the best of our abilities.
on quarterback Malik Washington’s performance
“It’s so hard to say just based off all the emotion of another tough loss. We didn’t make enough plays. Whether it’s Malik, the receivers, the running backs, Malik, or the guys up front. We need to find the things that keep us moving.”
on his thoughts on the defense and pass rush
“The defense played well enough for us to win. They scored points, they got turnovers, they tackled better this week. In the fourth quarter, we missed some tackles there again. Our defense changed the whole game. I felt the other two phases didn’t do their part to complement the defense.”
Maryland quarterback Malik Washington
on UCLA’s defensive effort
“Yeah, they studied what they knew. They played sound defensively, they communicated with one another and were able to kind of limit some of the stuff that we were able to do offensively with the explosives by, you know, playing over the top; something we’ve seen, you know, for a couple weeks. Just making us, you know, take the underneath stuff and having to live with it and then trying to figure it out from there.”
on the disappointment of letting up a field goal to end the game
“Yeah, I mean, it’s tough really. I’m glad the defense was playing their butt off all day, with guys being out, guys being out and guys being down. They continued to fight and kept us in the game and gave us a chance when offense was running down there. We scored. The cards just weren’t in our favor at the end of the day, but I’m super proud of the way the defense played with the energy and effort they played with, no matter the circumstance.”
on if he should be concerned with the team losing leads in the fourth quarter
“Not at all. I mean, we’ve been talking about it. Sometimes that’s just the game goes. We’ve been fighting our butts off. We kept it close, last three games losing by [a combined] 10 points. Sometimes you just get a little unlucky with it, but we have to finish games of course. Those drives that we have to put together as an offense when the defense is out there doing their thing, we’ve got to figure out a way to put it all together. Like you said, the past two weeks we couldn’t get that last drive – this week we got it, but we needed something earlier in the game. Just things that we’re going to keep adding to our toolbox for later down the road.”
on his personal growth after seeing Big Ten defenses
“It’s just helping me see the speed of it and how people are going to play. Of course they do their scouting job as well, so we’ve got to understand what we might bring going into it, but at the end of the day we have to stay with our rules and do what we know, and the result will be the result.”
on the final play before halftime
“Yeah, I talked about it with coach right after the fact, it was kind of in that gray area of, you know, do you go forwards or are you close enough to try and get out of bounds. I saw the clock, I realized I had enough time to get out, but I mean, of course, you know, hindsight is 20/20. I might’ve been able to get a couple extra yards and put us closer for a field goal or even for a Hail Mary.”
Maryland defensive lineman Dillan Fontus
on what went wrong in the last offensive drive
“I feel like communication. Just being on the same page with our guys. Other than that, just knowing where we’re supposed to be and being there.”
on how tough it was to play without the three top guys on the defense
“It’s definitely, it’s hard because these are our playmakers, these are our guys who want to make a play. We definitely played with the next man up. We have guys who train exactly how they are and where they’re supposed to be and supposed to do. Everybody just came in and it was their time to play, they played hard.”
on how he’s feeling this week
“I got to talk about last week. It’s something that me and my family kind of talk a lot about. Putting the rest behind you, focusing on the moment and trying to go out there and make a play. You’re desperate like that, you’re trying to get down there and drive. Doing whatever it takes. Whether it's on the ground or in the air however you have to get down there and score. Another tough on this week and I know guys are down but there’s light at the end of the tunnel we just got to endure. We talk about it all week, about being able to endure. We thought this week was going to be weak, like we’d been through the fire and it’s our time to be able to rejoice. But, these endurance things, they don’t make you stronger at the end of the day. You have to endure, to grow, and you have to go through something to be something. For us, that’s just what it’s about this week. Continuing to endure and find that light at the end of the tunnel.”
UCLA 20, Maryland 17
Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl)
October 18, 2025
Tim Skipper, UCLA football interim head coach
opening statement
“Tough games, you are going to need everybody. We preach all the time, you never know when your moment is going to happen. You just keep working hard, you keep executing, keep sawing wood, and when your opportunity comes take full opportunity of that. It was a whole team effort – you can name a lot of people that contributed to this thing. We talked strain, we talked grinding, every single play matters, we preach that. But literally tonight, every single played mattered. Even the squib on the kickoff, they start lateraling, your heart stops dropping. Someone has to made a play and make a big hit, and then we are out of there. We thought we were done, and they told us there are two seconds left – we have to go back and execute. It took everybody. Frias is a hard-working dude. He’s buried on the depth chart at the beginning of the year, but he just kept working – never complained. He had his opportunity tonight and he took full advantage of it tonight. Nico is the ultimate competitor. He was down on the ground, he was down and feeling really bad, and he got up and kind of walked it off. Then they said you’re okay, and he said I’m going. He went out there and led a phenomenal drive. He stuck in that pocket and delivered the ball, got us down there – big run, and then we executed the field goal. That was awesome to see guys keep fighting and straining. Nobody pointed fingers, that’s the main thing. It got tight. It was really tight down there on the sidelines. Nobody was pointing fingers. We were just like we are a play away, we are a play away. We are almost there. They came true and we figured out a way to finish it off.”
on the Bruins’ defense
“We definitely would want to have that drive back. There are some plays we wish we could get back. We threw a lot at those guys this week. We wanted to stop the run. And then when we got in the longer yardage stuff, we had all kinds of defense, and the guys learned it in a short amount of time and we executed it pretty well. I think we could have had a couple more turnovers out there, that we left hanging. But the guys bought in. We kept another offense under 400 yards, they had 337 yards. We played four quarters, just one drive got away from us. We can build from that and we will keep on working.
on keeping Maryland quarterback Malik Washington quiet
“Like I was saying, he is a great player. I want to tip my hat to Maryland. They came out here on a long trip and they went out there and fought. Our whole goal was to see if we could confuse them as much as possible. In order to do that, our guys had to learn a lot. We’re looking at splits, we’re looking at formations, and then we are getting into the defense we want to get in. It’s pretty advanced. I’m happy and excited that we could do that. It was good to see that tonight, and we will keep building from that. Without having a spring ball and a training camp with the defense, to see how much we had in for this game, and then to execute it, is phenomenal.”
on defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle
“He taught me defense. 1997 is when I met him. I’m a freshman playing football, and he taught me how you play defense. That friendship has just kept on building and building. It was awesome for me to actually work with him and learn even more. I’m still learning from him, it has not stopped at all. He’s the godfather of defense. He thinks up of all these schemes. He hammers film, he watches all day and night, and then we come up with these plans, and we execute them. We were only in this thing for a month, and the guys just get that, that’s a compliment to coach Coyle and the defensive staff, teaching the guys and getting them to execute it. I’m very pleased with the defense, I’m pleased with everyone fighting through it. But the defense kept us in it and we got it done.
on his reaction to Nico Iamaleava going down in the fourth quarter
“I just took a deep breath. I’ve been around football enough to know sometimes when it looks the worst, it is not – and sometimes when it doesn’t, it is. You just take a deep breath, let the medical staff do their jobs and we figure out where we are. I know with Nico when I saw him start to walk off and his face started to come back normal, I was like we have a shot here. We have a shot. Then they cleared him, and I was like, let's go. I was hoping we didn’t have to get to this, where he needed that drive. But we ended up needing it, and he executed it. Ultimate competitors compete, he didn’t want to come out. He went out there and he did his thing.”
on his team being able to thrive the last few weeks
“I think it’s all about belief, belief. The guys believe, they believe. There is nothing that happens throughout the game that is going to take away confidence. You don’t really know that until you get in a tight game like that. I found out today that the guys believe. I kind of knew that, but when you get in a tight game like this, and everything is not going your way and all these things, and you find a way to pull it out, and nobody pointed fingers. That tells you something. I think belief is the key word. The guys believed all the way to the end and I’m glad we got it done.”
on continuing the momentum, and motivating this football team
“We talked about things we needed to do to win. Our whole motivation this week was the standard is the standard, and that’s playing winning football, executing and doing what we needed to do. Disciplined football also, that goes hand in hand. We have identified out style of play. Now we need to match it every single Saturday. That will continue every single week. Preach from day one, always be on the rise, that is our standard, and next is going to need to be better than it was today.”
on Coach Skipper’s coaching history
“My dad coached forever and he’s retired now. My brother is coaching with the Buffalo Bills. My parents and my brothers, all of that is just flowing through me. When we’re sitting at dinner, we’re just talking ball. We’re talking through situations. All of that stuff just goes through your mind. My dad is a big clock management guy. The clock management sheet that I have, which is in my pocket right now, is his. As soon as the game got under five minutes, I just held that sheet the whole time. It just brings me back to all of those memories. I can hear my dad saying ‘Just work the game.’ It worked man, and the final result was in our favor.”
on Nico Iamaleava bouncing back from a difficult start to the game
“I’m not going to put it all on Nico. Three are a lot of things that happened. Maryland did a great job of giving us a lot of different looks. Our ground game was hit or miss. It was tough sledding out there. But for the whole entire offense, those guys had to stick together. It’s the whole unit. 11 guys and one heartbeat. Nico was being a leader. The leader went down, and maybe he’s out. All of that stuff matters. The belief was still. All three phases had moments that were good. We won this as a team.”
on next week’s Big Noon Kickoff against Indiana, in Bloomington
“To be honest, what’s hitting me, is that a month ago I was talking to you guys and if you told me we’d be in a Big Noon game, I’d be telling you that you’re just trying to mess with me. That is awesome. It means we’re doing something right. We’ll get ready to go. We’ll leave on Thursday and we’ll play on Saturday. We’re going have a good week of practice, and then we’re going to battle it out.”
UCLA kicker Mateen Bhaghani
on the game-winning kick
“It was a very special moment. I’m super appreciative of our offense – Nico [Iamaleava] and [Anthony] Frias really putting their heart out on the line and getting me down there, and Salem [Abdul-Wahab] and Cash [Peterman] just making it easy for me – a little tap-in kick.”
on resetting after his earlier miss
“I always try to remind myself just flush those moments, flush those kicks. It’s very hard sometimes, but I knew I had more in the game. Coach Mac [Bailey McElwain] and Coach [Anthony] Goliver, both my special teams coaches, just told me ‘keep your head in it; you’re going to have another one. keep your head in going to have another one.’ And I really just believed and kept my head down.”
on what has allowed the team to come together as a team
“I think the main thing that Coach Skip emphasized this week is ‘The standard is the standard.’ Each week we’re trying to reset our standard and play the best ball we can in all three phases of ball – offense, defense and special teams. I think the efforts of Coach Skip and Nico [Iamaleava] trying to bring the team together, I think it’s working, and we’re going to keep it rolling.”
on one particular moment where they had to strain
“For me, I’d say that second kick after I missed that first one. Just really focused on the details and just tried to be as intentional as I can.”
on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle video that the coaches played for the team
“The biggest thing is every week we’re trying to apply pressure. And whatever it is, whoever we’re against, it doesn’t matter. It’s about us and what we can do on that field. So I think that’s the main message of these little videos they’ve been putting together.”
UCLA wide receiver Mikey Matthews
on Nico Iamaleava coming back from injury
“It just shows how much of leader he is. He definitely wanted to be in that last drive to make sure he ended it out and won us the game. But he came back and pushed through. That just shows he definitely has that dawg in him no matter what.”
on what has allowed the team to come together as a team
“We all have the same why. We all dealt with adversity at the beginning of the season. We didn’t want to start the season the way we started, and once we started getting the ball rolling, we feel the momentum and we’re just going to keep using that every game and every week.”
on being a team of destiny
“We’re just going to take it one game at a time. We’ve got Indiana next week on the road, so that’s going to be a hard game, but we’ve definitely got to take care of them and see how that goes.”
on the excitement of having the Noon kickoff spotlight
“Just ready enough to wake up and go play ball. That’s all that matters.”
on one particular moment where they had to strain
“The whole game.”
on waiting for the one moment for the offense to get on track
“We’ve just got to keep staying positive. Everyone has games like those where the offense is not clicking but the defense is holding. We’re on the sidelines saying ‘the defense is bailing us out, so we’ve got to get something going quick.’ We’re not even getting in field goal range for Mateen. It just was hired. I think we were pinned on the 10-yard line two or three times. Backed-up offense is tough, but it’s something we’ve got to work on.”
on his touchdown
“I just saw man coverage and I knew I was going to score. So I was happy to see that. I knew Nico and I were going to connect. We had a similar look in practice where we also connected, so I think we both knew I was going to score on that touchdown.”
UCLA running back Anthony Frias II
on his big runs and having a dream come true
“It means the world to me. God is good, I am just so grateful. When I came here with my dad to watch that Rose Bowl game, it is amazing to see it come to fruition. I am blessed and so happy that all the work that has been going on is finally coming, and I was able to get an opportunity and make the most out of it. Just thankful for my coaches for letting me do that tonight.”
on the touchdown run and the big run with 30 seconds to go
“It’s just a mentality, and being able to have the opportunity today. I was just trying to make the most of it. When I was going through the runs, just making sure I run hard and keep my legs going and have a high knee drive. It was a moment that I was able to capitalize on, and I’m just thankful that I got an opportunity to do that here. I’m grateful to UCLA for seeing that and letting the hard work speak for itself, and actually letting me step on that field tonight.”
on getting carries tonight
“It feels amazing. I am grateful, that’s the main thing. It just feels good to finally be balling again, and showing what I can do. I’m just grateful for the staff, I’m grateful for the staff, I’m grateful for the moment, and I’m trying to soak it in. Then tomorrow comes around and get ready for next week.”
on the fans at the Rose Bowl
“You can tell in the fourth quarter the fans were into the game, and being loud for us. I know that contributed a lot, and we are just grateful. With the score, the student section was jumping, it was crazy to see them go crazy. To see all the students there and the fans there, that’s something that we feed off of, and we’re grateful it was a good turnout and we were able to capitalize for them, and get a win for the fans too.”
UCLA defensive back Rodrick Pleasant
on disrupting Maryland’s quarterback
“We took this game with pride. We knew it was going to be on us, they throw the ball a lot. That was our motto this week, put it on us, we have to do what we have to do. The guys played really good. I’m happy for Scooter and the rest of the guys. It was an exciting game. I can’t wait to watch it back.”
on the fourth and goal stop
“The first thing I heard, I heard the crowd go crazy. Then I saw the clip, and Andre Jordan is a great player. He made a spectacular play. Two weeks in a row, he’s playing at a high level. He’s forcing me to play really well. Just being competitive, he’s making plays – I got to make plays and we pride ourselves on that.”
on the fans showing out
“Shout out to the fans, they came out. We hope to see them out in two weeks when they come out for the Nebraska game. It’s been electric, it’s been more and more traction, they’ve been helping us a lot out there.”
Maryland head coach Michael Locksley
opening statement
“I give credit to Coach Skipper and his staff and his team. They fought for four quarters, they battled. They’re a tough opponent, they’re playing together, and playing for each other. Obviously, we’re disappointed, but I can tell you we’re not discouraged. We’ve lost three Big Ten games by a combined 10 points in the last three weeks. I’m going to ask what I need to do and what we need to do to be able to finish these games. We have a growth mindset. We have to do better. I thought our defense played lights out. They played well enough for us to win. It’s disappointing because it’s execution that we need to get fixed. We have the bye week coming up and I’m going to evaluate everything that we do, starting with myself. We’ll do whatever we have to do to put us in a position to compete and find a way to get back on the right track.”
on the team’s inability to close games in the fourth quarter
“We spend a lot of time trying to answer the ‘Whats’. Part of it is getting all three phases to play complementary to each other. That will help us. For the second week in a row, Chicago called in and we lose a player. The flag on the field was coming from Chicago.”
on losing players to targeting calls
“I’m not a victim. I’m going to have ask what I have to do going forward. It’s my job to coach the football team and I’m going to stick to that.”
on the attempt to get the offense back to the form it showed early in the season
“We missed some easy throws, and the receivers just sat on a throw, and we threw it behind them. Sometimes we didn’t make the catch. In the past, we’ll have to see what we did earlier in the year to get Malik [Washington] going. What we’re seeing is not allowing to get the explosives going over the top, and it’s tough to get a young quarterback to find that rhythm. We got to execute to the best of our abilities.
on quarterback Malik Washington’s performance
“It’s so hard to say just based off all the emotion of another tough loss. We didn’t make enough plays. Whether it’s Malik, the receivers, the running backs, Malik, or the guys up front. We need to find the things that keep us moving.”
on his thoughts on the defense and pass rush
“The defense played well enough for us to win. They scored points, they got turnovers, they tackled better this week. In the fourth quarter, we missed some tackles there again. Our defense changed the whole game. I felt the other two phases didn’t do their part to complement the defense.”
Maryland quarterback Malik Washington
on UCLA’s defensive effort
“Yeah, they studied what they knew. They played sound defensively, they communicated with one another and were able to kind of limit some of the stuff that we were able to do offensively with the explosives by, you know, playing over the top; something we’ve seen, you know, for a couple weeks. Just making us, you know, take the underneath stuff and having to live with it and then trying to figure it out from there.”
on the disappointment of letting up a field goal to end the game
“Yeah, I mean, it’s tough really. I’m glad the defense was playing their butt off all day, with guys being out, guys being out and guys being down. They continued to fight and kept us in the game and gave us a chance when offense was running down there. We scored. The cards just weren’t in our favor at the end of the day, but I’m super proud of the way the defense played with the energy and effort they played with, no matter the circumstance.”
on if he should be concerned with the team losing leads in the fourth quarter
“Not at all. I mean, we’ve been talking about it. Sometimes that’s just the game goes. We’ve been fighting our butts off. We kept it close, last three games losing by [a combined] 10 points. Sometimes you just get a little unlucky with it, but we have to finish games of course. Those drives that we have to put together as an offense when the defense is out there doing their thing, we’ve got to figure out a way to put it all together. Like you said, the past two weeks we couldn’t get that last drive – this week we got it, but we needed something earlier in the game. Just things that we’re going to keep adding to our toolbox for later down the road.”
on his personal growth after seeing Big Ten defenses
“It’s just helping me see the speed of it and how people are going to play. Of course they do their scouting job as well, so we’ve got to understand what we might bring going into it, but at the end of the day we have to stay with our rules and do what we know, and the result will be the result.”
on the final play before halftime
“Yeah, I talked about it with coach right after the fact, it was kind of in that gray area of, you know, do you go forwards or are you close enough to try and get out of bounds. I saw the clock, I realized I had enough time to get out, but I mean, of course, you know, hindsight is 20/20. I might’ve been able to get a couple extra yards and put us closer for a field goal or even for a Hail Mary.”
Maryland defensive lineman Dillan Fontus
on what went wrong in the last offensive drive
“I feel like communication. Just being on the same page with our guys. Other than that, just knowing where we’re supposed to be and being there.”
on how tough it was to play without the three top guys on the defense
“It’s definitely, it’s hard because these are our playmakers, these are our guys who want to make a play. We definitely played with the next man up. We have guys who train exactly how they are and where they’re supposed to be and supposed to do. Everybody just came in and it was their time to play, they played hard.”
on how he’s feeling this week
“I got to talk about last week. It’s something that me and my family kind of talk a lot about. Putting the rest behind you, focusing on the moment and trying to go out there and make a play. You’re desperate like that, you’re trying to get down there and drive. Doing whatever it takes. Whether it's on the ground or in the air however you have to get down there and score. Another tough on this week and I know guys are down but there’s light at the end of the tunnel we just got to endure. We talk about it all week, about being able to endure. We thought this week was going to be weak, like we’d been through the fire and it’s our time to be able to rejoice. But, these endurance things, they don’t make you stronger at the end of the day. You have to endure, to grow, and you have to go through something to be something. For us, that’s just what it’s about this week. Continuing to endure and find that light at the end of the tunnel.”