The referees for the No. 21-ranked UCLA Bruins and No. 13-ranked Oregon Ducks game on Saturday seemed to miss a vicious late hit on UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
At one point in the game (which UCLA won via 17-15 upset), Oregon defenders Bear Alexander and Jerry Mixon combined to tackle Iamaleava.
As they were bringing him to the ground, cameras caught Alexander winding up and delivering a brutal shot to Iamaleava’s face well after he was already down. Alexander’s right hand landed on the UCLA quarterback‘s face-mask and clearly jolted his entire helmet.
Jerry Mixon also looked to be delivering a punch while tackling Iamaleava on this same play. But his shot didn’t connect, and it looked to be more of him trying to punch the football out of the quarterback’s grasp rather than a dirty hit.
Perhaps Alexander was going for the ball, as well. But he missed by a lot if that was his intended target, and the punch attempt came way too late.
There was no penalty flag thrown on the play. And despite the entire exchange being replayed multiple times on the broadcast, the game’s commentators never mentioned it, which further frustrated fans.
Iamaleava appeared to be fine afterwards, although he exited the same with an apparent leg injury in the second quarter and ultimately missed the entire second half.
Despite not having their starting quarterback for the final two quarters, UCLA got the last laugh against Oregon, winning the game in a stunning upset.
Ultimately, the 5-0 UCLA squad got the last laugh by beating the 3-2 Ducks on their home field.
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