The UCLA football team is out to a strong start to the 2026 season. The team is dealing with some tough injury news though, as starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava is out for the year.

Iamaleava needs surgery after suffering a bad knee injury.

“It's severe,” UCLA head football coach Bob Chesney said, per the Associated Press.

Iamaleava was injured in the team's win earlier this season against Oregon. UCLA's quarterback had his leg twisted when he was brought down for a tackle. The Bruins must now move forward without him.

“Backup Ty Dieffenbach stepped in to finish the (Oregon) game and then made his first career FBS start in a 17-7 win over Wisconsin last weekend. He went 22-of-33 for 264 yards,” the AP reported.

UCLA is one of the biggest surprises in the country this season. The Bruins are 6-0 overall, and 4-0 in the Big Ten. UCLA is tied for first place currently in the conference standings.

Chesney is in just his first season leading the Bruins. He previously coached at James Madison, where he led that program to the College Football Playoff. Chesney immediately has impressed college football analysts including Kirk Herbstreit, with how he has led UCLA.

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Chesney attributes a lot of his success to how he was impacted by his father.

“A lot of it ultimately starts with, honestly, my father growing up, watching him and listening to him. A lot of the things we talk about in pregame speeches and the stuff he would do — he was always looking for an edge, a mental edge and a confidence-building edge. We were never a really big team and never had a lot of guys on the roster. We were a little Catholic school in Pennsylvania. The two public schools around us were pretty strong powerhouses,” Chesney said, per 247 Sports.

UCLA next plays Michigan State on Saturday at home.