The Wisconsin Badgers have one of their biggest games of the Luke Fickell era ahead of them on Saturday, as they take on the No. 12 UCLA Bruins on the road in primetime.
Ahead of the game, a major twist came on Monday: UCLA star quarterback Nico Iamaleava is out indefinitely, perhaps even for the season, with a knee injury suffered this past weekend against the Oregon Ducks.
Iamaleava, 6’5, 215-pound senior, had been a key part of UCLA’s success until Saturday, seeing his NFL Draft stock rise this season with a quality start to the year. He did struggle, however, against the Ducks, throwing for 162 yards and two interceptions with under a 60 percent completion rate before his injury.
UCLA still managed to win with backup Ty Dieffenbach playing the entire second half. Dieffenbach finished the game with 43 yards and a touchdown on 3 of 6 passing, although the Bruins went very run-heavy in the second half.
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With Dieffenbach under center, UCLA had four punts, a turnover on downs, and a touchdown on a short field after an Oregon interception. Now, it looks like he’ll be the starter for the Bruins on Saturday against the Badgers.
Still, UCLA managed to win despite Iamaleava’s injury, beating the Ducks 17-15 on the road thanks to a stellar defensive performance and a 100-yard game from running back Wayne Knight. Now, the Bruins are 5-0 and the No. 12 team in the country, setting up for a big primetime matchup against Wisconsin.
With the Iamaleava news, we’ll see how the odds shift ahead of Saturday’s game.