Bruins Fall to New Mexico, 35–10, at Rose Bowl in Final Non-Conference Game

UCLA closed out its non-conference football schedule with a 35–10 loss to New Mexico on Friday night at the Rose Bowl, as the Bruins (0–3) struggled to maintain momentum and saw attendance at the historic Pasadena venue dip to 31,163 — down from 35,032 at the season opener against Utah on Aug. 30.

New Mexico (2–1) jumped out to a 14–0 lead with touchdowns in the first and second quarters. Running back Scottre Humphrey opened scoring with a 1-yard rush at the 3:10 mark of the first quarter, capping a short drive. The Lobos extended their lead early in the second quarter with a seven-play, 59-yard drive.

UCLA responded with an eight-play, 78-yard drive, ending in a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nico Iamaleava to wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala. Iamaleava finished 22-of-34 for 217 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Anthony Woods led the Bruins on the ground with 64 rushing yards on 10 carries.

The Bruins trailed 14–7 at halftime and narrowed the deficit to 14–10 with a 51-yard field goal by Mateen Bhaghani at the 3:34 mark of the third quarter. But New Mexico answered with three consecutive touchdowns to pull away.

The Lobos mounted a 13-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run from Damon Bankston with 10:42 remaining in regulation. Bankston later added a 43-yard touchdown reception at the 7:06 mark of the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 154 rushing yards. New Mexico’s final score came with 36 seconds left in the game.

Quarterback Jack Layne completed 12 of 16 passes for 152 yards for the Lobos. D.J. McKinney added 89 rushing yards on 21 carries as New Mexico totaled 298 yards on the ground.

UCLA’s defense delivered key fourth-down stops, including a stand at the 1:09 mark of the second quarter and a fumble recovery inside its own five-yard line midway through the third. The Bruins recovered a fumbled punt return shortly afterward, taking over at their own 41-yard line, but failed to capitalize.

“Not the outcome at all that we wanted,” UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster said in a postgame statement. “It’s coming down to discipline and execution. We’re not at our best when our best is needed. We’ve got two weeks to fix this, and just looking forward to this opportunity to get it fixed.”

UCLA enters a bye week before beginning Big Ten play on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Northwestern. Game time has not been announced. The Bruins return to the Rose Bowl on Saturday, Oct. 4, to host Penn State.