How UCLA Exposed the Many Issues of Penn State's Roster

The Nittany Lions struggled on multiple fronts offensively and defensively against the Bruins.

UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) drops back to pass during the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Rose Bowl. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Penn State's flight home from Los Angeles was understandably quiet, an atmosphere lit merely by iPads running footage of the debacle. After their 42-37 loss to UCLA, the Nittany Lions had a lot of grim film to watch, including plays in all three phases.

"It's hard to look at," offensive lineman Drew Shelton said Tuesday. "You obviously hate looking at a loss and all that kind of stuff, but it's so important to be able to put it behind us and keep moving forward for the next week. Beacause there's something coming next week."

Next week arrives Saturday, when Northwestern visits Beaver Stadium for Penn State's annual homecoming game. The Wildcats are 3-2 just like Penn State, with a 17-14 win over a UCLA team that just scored 42 against the Nittany Lions.

And now, Northwestern has two full games of a how-to guide on beating Penn State, compiled by teams at the top (Oregon) and bottom of the Big Ten. UCLA in particular exposed multiple fissures in this Penn State team.

RELATED: Penn State's loss to UCLA had far-reaching broadcast implications

Penn State in the national rankings

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) throws a pass during the fourth quarter against the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

A look at where the Nittany Lions rank nationally this season in some key stats.

Statistic	National Rank
Total Offense	69th
Explosive Play Offense %	41st
Third-Down Offense Succese Rate	71st
Completion Percentage	51st
Starting Quarterback Rating	76th
Rushing Offense	52nd
Rushing Defense	77th
Third-Down Defense Success Rate	80th
Sacks Per Game	40th
Tackles For Loss	18th
Time Of Possession	124th

An offense that's not using its core

{enn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) runs for a touchdown during the first quarter against the UCLA Bruins. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

On a critical fourth-quarter series against UCLA, Penn State ran six plays needing a touchdown without its best offensive player on the field. Running back Kaytron Allen watched from the sideline, wearing his helmet, as the Nittany Lions ran the entire series without him.

The last play, a 4th-and-2 from the UCLA 9-yard line, was a quarterback draw on which two UCLA defenders swallowed receiver Trebor Pena and Drew Allar, who kept the ball for a 3-yard loss. Penn State coach James Franklin credited UCLA for making an "aggressive call."

Meanwhile, Allen and his 6.2 ypg average in the game were on the sideline. Allen touched the ball nine times against UCLA; eight carries, one reception. He has been Penn State's best offensive player this season but consistently goes underused.

Allen played 22 snaps against the Bruins to Nicholas Singleton's 37. He played 28 snaps vs. Oregon to Singleton's 34. He is averaging nearly twice as many yards per carry as Singleton (7.0 to 3.8) but has had just 20 total carries in Penn State's two losses.

Franklin said that offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and running backs coach Stan Drayton determine the rotations and track touches more than plays. Allen has 60 total offensive touches this season; Singleton 73. That should be the opposite.

Further, Allen has run 25 times on first down, when he's averaging 9.92 yards per attempt. He sets a tone, something Penn State's staff is restricting him from doing.

"Obviously when things don't go well then, that's one of the first things you look at and you say, '[Allen] needs more touches and should have had more touches in that game,'" Frankin said. "
So, yeah, I think that's a fair question. We had a similar discussion ourself as a staff."

RELATED: Drew Allar makes a promise after Penn State's loss to UCLA

An offensive line that has regressed

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) runs with the ball during the second quarter against the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Penn State's offense rushed for 157 yards against UCLA, but Allar totaled about half those yards primarily on scrambles. Otherwise, the Nittany Lions rushed 20 times for 79 yards against what was the Big Ten's most porous run defense entering the game.

The offensive line has been a confusing disappointment, considering how well it played during the 2024 postseason. According to Pro Football Focus, just one offensive line graded above 70 vs. the Bruins (left guard Vega Ioane at 72.5). The next-highest-graded lineman was new starting right guard T.J. Shanahan Jr. (69.2).

The line's issues have bled into a run game that ranks 52nd nationally and an offense converting just 40.1 percent of its third downs. Franklin made one change at UCLA, replacing right tackle Nolan Rucci in the second half with Anthony Donkoh, the starting right guard who was listed as questionable on the pregame availability report. Further change is unlikely, as Penn State has settled on its top-6 and will shuffle as needed.

"We knew what the expectations were that we put on ourselves coming into this year, and I think a lot of it so far has just been some combination of four guys doing something right and one guy not holding up their end of the bargain," Shelton said. "We have to make sure we work every single play to make sure all five of us are on the same page and playing at the same level."

A lack of depth at key positions

UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) runs for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Rose Bowl. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Penn State planned to spy UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava with linebacker Tony Rojas, who then sustained a long-term injury four days before the game. Iamaleava took advantage, running for a career-high 128 yards, more than 100 of those on third down.

Penn State knew it had linebacker depth issues before the season, but UCLA exploited the loss of a single player at the program's most famous position. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has said multiple times this season that he had just three linebackers whom he trusted, and one won't play again this season.

One more is inside linebacker Amare Campbell, who played an exhausting 79 snaps vs. UCLA. The other is senior Dom DeLuca, who Iamaleava sprinted by several times in the open field.

"Most importantly, [it's] just playing with confidence right now," Franklin said of his linebackers. "So that's a challenge. ... Whenever you lose one of your better players on your team, at a position we were already lacking depth, that is going to create some challenges for us. So yeah, that's going to be a point of attention all week long with our coaching staff, with the players."

Offensively, Penn State has shown no willingness to rotate at wide receiver, a positional weakness for two seasons. The trio of Kyron Hudson, Davonte Ross and Trebor Pena played a combined 130 snaps vs. UCLA and combined for seven receptions. Liam Clifford (six snaps) was the only other receiver to play.

Why the reluctance to test more young players across the board, but specifically at linebacker and receiver? Franklin addressed this subject generally in September.

"There are other guys that are complaining that they should be playing, and their parents are sending text messages, and they’re going to get in a game and won’t be ready. And then we won’t be ready and we won’t hear anything from anybody," Franklin said during Penn State's bye week. "There's a little furstraiton with that, and there always is, It’s a small percentage, but what I want to make sure as coaches, and myself included, is that you don’t get frustrated with the 2 percent compared to the 98 percent who are doing it the right way."

Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium on Saturday to host Northwestern for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on FS1.

Expectations vs. Results pic.twitter.com/HtybSgJ04x

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) October 6, 2025

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