Midseason Report Card: Grading UCLA’s First Half

What more can be said about the job Tim Skipper has done since being promoted to UCLA's interim head coach?

He completely changed UCLA's culture and trajectory when it the program's outlooked looked as grim as it could get.

Have his results earned him the right to be a prime candidate for a more permanent promotion? Hard to say, but Skipper will certainly be removing "interim" from his job title in the near future, regardless of where that will be.

Nico Iamaleava has been one of the most polarizing topics of this season. Through the first month, he didn't meet expectations and was widely ridiculed (again) for his departure from Tennessee. In the last two weeks, he's led the Bruins to two statement wins and has been one of the hottest arms in the sport.

I've defended Iamaleava at even the lowest points of the season, and have been criticized for it. But I truly think the redshirt sophomore's early struggles were due, in part, to his supporting cast and, mostly, to the tire fire that was the coaching staff before Skipper and Neuheisel took over.

Iamaleava hasn't been completely blameless, though. Some of the blemishes he showed last season have been evident through the first half of this year. The difference, though, is that he has gotten better every single game.

UCLA's defensive lows were very, very low. Through the first three games, anyone who watched the Bruins on that side of the ball could make an argument that they were the worst in all of college football.

It got so bad that defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe reportedly felt guilty about DeShaun Foster's firing and mutually agreed to part ways with the program. The grade for UCLA defensively through the first three games was a sure fire F.

But Skipper and senior defensive assistant Kevin Coyle completely revamped the defense, allowing 67 points in their last three games, 37 of which came in their upset win over Penn State last week.

Perhaps the biggest positive story of the Bruins season has been the rise of Jerry Neuheisel.

UCLA's prodigal son got the call after offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri departed, and he led the Bruins to score 42 points in their stunner of the Nittany Lions. Neuheisel not only simplified the Bruins' offense, he optimized every player on the field.

He was so amped for the new gig that he slept just three hours in four days preparing for Penn State. With a full week of preparation ahead of Michigan State this week, the former Westwood signal-caller called UCLA to 38 points to topple the Spartans.

UCLA's trajectory this season changed seemingly each week. For now, though, it looks like the Bruins are in the midst of a historic midseason turnaround.