After a hard-fought loss last weekend, No. 7 Penn State will be in store for a different type of challenge Saturday afternoon when it faces UCLA in Big Ten action in Los Angeles.
The Nittany Lions (3-1, 0-1) scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to draw even with then-No. 6 Oregon last Saturday and went ahead in overtime but fell short in double OT, 30-24.
“I’m not going to allow one loss to define our season,” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said, “and I’m not going to allow a few losses to define my career, what we’ve done here at Penn State.”
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, whose interception in the second OT sealed the loss, finished 14 of 25 for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Kaytron Allen ran for 54 yards and a touchdown, but Franklin said he wants to see longer drives and more overall production from the entire offense.
“When you talk about the inconsistency, it’s all across the board on offense,” he said. “You see flashes of brilliance and then you see inconsistency.”
The Nittany Lions, of course, are still in contention for a conference crown or a national title. With the 12-team playoff in existence, Franklin knows his team can remain in the postseason mix with a win Saturday.
“I don’t think a lot of people, including our players, recognize college football has changed,” Franklin said, noting that he is delivering that same message to his team. “It’s much more of an NFL model now in terms of records, in terms of the season, and how it goes in (aiming to reach) the playoffs.”
Penn State hopes its road to recovery begins against an opponent that is still searching for its first win. UCLA (0-4, 0-1) fired coach DeShaun Foster after opening the season with three losses, and then the team dropped the debut of interim head coach Tim Skipper last weekend at Northwestern.
The Bruins fell behind 17-0 before losing 17-14. Nico Iamaleava threw for 180 yards and a touchdown and ran for a team-high 65 yards in UCLA’s tightest loss this season.
“It stings. It really does sting,” Skipper said. “But like I told those guys, you’ve got to keep your heads up. I mean, we are going to be in a fight every single game. … It is going to be a tough flight home. But once we land back home, we got to get ready to go for the next one.”
UCLA has only one rushing touchdown this season — a Week 2 scamper by Iamaleava.
“Nico was the emphasis for this week,” Skipper said, regarding his team’s struggles in the running game. “We saw in some of their previous games, quarterback runs gave them problems. … But obviously, every week will be a little different. We have to see who we are playing against to know what we are going to do.”
Penn State won last year’s matchup 27-11 in the first meeting between the teams since 1968. UCLA leads the all-time series 4-3.
