UCLA QB Nico Iamaleavas season imperiled by serious knee injury

In a devastating setback for UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava and his team, the quarterback is expected to miss a significant amount of time after getting sandwiched by two defenders Saturday.While it’s possible that Iamaleava’s season could be over, he is still being evaluated for a knee injury and no official announcement has been made about his status.Coach Bob Chesney is scheduled to speak with reporters at 1 p.m.

PDT.A prolonged absence of UCLA’s starting quarterback could imperil the unbeaten Bruins’ bid for their first appearance in the College Football Playoff.No.12 UCLA (5-0 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) now must turn to either backup Ty Dieffenbach, who played admirably in relief of Iamaleava during the Bruins’ victory over Oregon, or fellow reserve Madden Iamaleava, the younger brother of Nico.Iamaleava was hurt late in the second quarter when was crushed between two defenders while going down.

Oregon defensive tackle Bear Alexander also punched Iamaleava’s helmet on the play but was not called for a penalty because the officials apparently did not see it.Iamaleava left for one play and then returned for the next one, throwing a pass that was intercepted in the end zone.He was replaced in the second half by Dieffenbach, who threw the 9-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the decisive points in the Bruins’ 17-15 triumph.In his first appearance with UCLA after transferring from Cal Poly, Dieffenbach completed three of six passes for 43 yards while effectively managing the offense.Chesney said after the game that he had gone with Dieffenbach instead of Madden Iamaleava – who had previously appeared in relief of his brother this season – because of the superior ability to run the ball that Dieffenbach had displayed in practice.Nico Iamaleava had struggled for most of the season, particularly in the first two games when he tallied two interceptions and no touchdowns.

He rebounded against Purdue and Maryland, combining for four touchdowns and no intercept...