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UCLA coach Bob Chesney denounces Bear Alexander's 'egregious' punch to back of QB Nico Iamaleava's head vs. Oregon that refs missed

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Mary Reid

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On Monday, UCLA confirmed that quarterback Nico Iamaleava has a knee injury from Saturday’s win over Oregon that will reportedly sideline him indefinitely and potentially for the rest of the season.

Head coach Bob Chesney also condemned officials from the same game for missing a punch to the back of Iamaleava’s head on the play that injured him.

“Egregious,” Chesney told reporters. “It’s a shame that it was missed.”

The punch took place on a tackle of Iamaleava by a pair of Oregon defenders late in the first half. While it happened on the same play in which Iamaleava injured his knee, the punch doesn’t appear to have played a role in the injury.

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Oregon defensive lineman Bear Alexander and linebacker Jerry Mixon combined to tackle Iamaleava on the play. Mixon attempted to punch the ball out of Iamaleava’s hands.

But Alexander, who tackled Iamaleava by his shoulders, wound up and took a swing toward the back of Iamaleava’s head. He made contact with the right side of Iamaleava’s helmet.

Officials appeared to have missed Alexander’s punch and didn’t throw a flag.

Iamaleava clutched his left knee at the end of the tackle. He missed the second half of the game that UCLA won 17-15 to improve to improve to 5-0. Ty Dieffenbach took over at quarterback after halftime.

News of the reported severity of Iamaleava’s injury is a potentially devastating blow for UCLA, which moved up to No. 12 in the AP poll on Sunday. The Bruins are in the College Football Playoff picture in a striking turnaround in Chesney’s first year as head coach on the heels of a 3-9 season in 2025.

As for Alexander’s punch, it’s not clear as of Monday if the Big Ten or Oregon will issue any discipline.

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