Bhaghani Named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week - UCLA

3 Sep 2024

UCLA Athletics

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Sophomore kicker Mateen Bhaghani on the UCLA football team was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, it was announced by the conference office Monday.

Bhaghani went a perfect 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts, including a 32-yard game-winner in the final minute, to lead UCLA (1-0) to a 16-13 season-opening victory at Hawai'i (0-1) last Saturday. Bhagani's third successful try gave the Bruins their first lead of the game with 56 seconds left in the fourth quarter, marking the first game-winning field goal of his collegiate career.

The specialist from San Diego scored UCLA's last nine points of the game while also hitting from distances of 22 and 27 yards.

"It felt amazing," Bhaghani said postgame. "Only one word was going through my head: execution. Our snapper, our punter, it was a great operation. A great hold. Everything just kind of fell into its place. Felt natural.

"Coach (DeShaun Foster), Coach (Kodi Whitfield) and our special teams analyst (Tucker Meyer) have been making sure all the kickers have been put in situations where they can replicate that type of pressure. Coming out here feels amazing to do that for Coach Fos. The whole coaching staff, they've been working super hard."

Before Saturday, UCLA's last game-winning field goal in the final minute came in week three of the 2022 season against South Alabama at Rose Bowl Stadium when Nicholas Barr-Mira hit from 24 yards out as time expired in a 32-31 victory.

This marks the first weekly honor of Bhaghani's collegiate career and the first weekly honor received by a Bruins' student-athlete as a member of the Big Ten Conference. With Saturday's result, Bhaghani is now 7-for-8 on field goal attempts in his collegiate career, including his freshman year spent at California.

The Bruins are on a bye week as they prepare for their home opener and first-ever Big Ten game versus Indiana on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 4:30 p.m. (PT) at the Rose Bowl. The game will be nationally televised on NBC.

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