PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Nebraska quarterback TJ Lateef walked into the Rose Bowl like he owned the place, and by the time his first college start was over, he did.
Lateef was 13 for 15 for 205 yards and three touchdowns in place of injured Dylan Raiola as the Cornhuskers beat UCLA 28-21 on Saturday night. He also had 31 rushing yards.
“Super proud of him,” running back Emmett Johnson said. “I’m excited for his future.”
Playing 25 miles from his hometown of Compton, Lateef was cheered on by family and friends as well as red-clad Husker fans who dominated the crowd of 44,481 and chanted his name.
“I had to turn the city up,” a smiling Lateef said.
As the first true freshman to start for Nebraska since 1950, Lateef directed the Cornhuskers (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) to scores on their first four possessions for a 27-7 lead. He kept his poise throughout, with his only two incompletions coming in the fourth quarter.
“Just had a what’s next mentality, just breathing, taking it one snap at a time and trying to execute to the best of my ability,” Lateef said.
Raiola is out for the season with a lower leg injury, but he sent Lateef back home with a lot of confidence.
“What Dylan has done for TJ, embracing him, bringing him in the fold,” Huskers coach Matt Rhule said, “pushed TJ to this point where he was more than ready for this moment.”
Coming out of Orange Lutheran High, a private Christian school in Orange County, Lateef made a couple casual recruiting visits to UCLA. But he was impressed by the coaching staff and fan base at Nebraska.
“For their quarterback to come out here, first start, and almost was perfect, you tip your hat to that kid,” Bruins interim coach Tim Skipper said.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who’s from Long Beach, said he and younger brother Madden spend time with Lateef.
“TJ’s my guy,” Iamaleava said. “It was good seeing him shine. I kind of didn’t want to see him shine, but he did a great job going into his first start.”
The Huskers didn’t change their offense to accommodate Lateef’s first start. He made his own read on the first play of the game and at other times he called play-action passes.
“I don’t believe you give people confidence. They earn it and they deserve it,” said Rhule, who reminded Lateef beforehand that he isn’t a dual threat, but a triple threat.
“You’ve got an arm, you’ve got feet and a brain,” he told the 19-year-old. “He made the right checks, the right plays, he was really professional.”
Johnson elevated his own play to back up Lateef, piling up 232 all-purpose yards along with three TDs.
“He was already super, super focused, but I told him just take it one play at a time, just play football,” Johnson said. “The first play, I was really excited. The team thought I was going to get the ball the whole game so when he pulled it and ran, I was like, ‘OK, he’s locked in.’”
The Huskers were already bowl eligible and Lateef’s cool-headed performance paired with Johnson’s exploits bolstered their hopes of landing in a top-tier bowl with two games remaining in the regular season.
“They got confidence in me, I got confidence in them,” Lateef said. “That’s how we’re going to continue to be great.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
