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No. 7 Penn State on Upset Alert vs. Winless UCLA at the Rose Bowl

The Bruins scored 27 first-half points to take a stunning lead over the Nittany Lions.
Mark Wogenrich|
UCLA Bruins wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer (3) reacts after scoring a touchdown against Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter at Rose Bowl.
UCLA Bruins wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer (3) reacts after scoring a touchdown against Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter at Rose Bowl. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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Penn Quakers

PASADENA, California | UCLA scored 27 first-half points, more than it had in any previous game this season, to take a shocking lead over No. 7 Penn State on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Breaking in a new offensive coordinator, and following a 17-14 loss at Northwestern, the Bruins stunned already reeling Penn State by sprinting to a 27-7 halftime lead.

It was one of the worst halves of Penn State football under head coach James Franklin, whose team looked dazed entering the locker room at halftime. Fittingly, UCLA capped a nearly perfect half with a 54-yard field goal by UCLA's Mateen Bhaghani. The Bruins (0-4) got into field-goal range after sacking Penn State quarterback Drew Allar on third down, leaving Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleave 22 seconds to get Bhaghani into position.

UCLA entered the game having not scored a first-quarter point in its first four games. Opponents had outscored the Bruins 33-0 in the first quarter. But new offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel guided the Bruins through a whiz-bang half, in which the offense scored on all five possessions, ending three of them with touchdowns.

Penn State's defense, playing without injured starting linebacker Tony Rojas, could not get off the field on third down. UCLA converted 7-of-8 third-down attempts and went 5-for-5 on one scoring drive. Entering the game, UCLA ranked last in the Big Ten and 125th in the country in third-down success rate (30.6 percent).

Penn State's first-half defense was out of position, on its heels and never in the backfield in the first half. In particular, UCLA's average third-down conversion distance was 6.8 yards and the team converted all three third-down attempts of 9+ yards.

UCLA went for it early. After a crisp, 75-yard opening scoring drive, the Bruins executed and recovered a perfect onside kick. That led to a field goal, giving the Bruins a 10-0 lead and 16 offensive plays before Penn State even took a snap.

Penn State responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive on which Allar went 4-for-4, and Kaytron Allen scored on a13-yard run. But UCLA shut down Penn State's run game after that, limiting the Nittany Lions to 28 yards rushing. That included a 10-yard loss by Trebor Pena on a sweep and minus-9 yards rushing for Allar, who was stuffed on a quarterback draw.

Iamaleava was nearly perfect in the first half, going 14-for-18 for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He launched a beautiful 43-yard completion to Kwazi Gilmer that set up a touchdown. Gilmer caught five passes for 79 yards in the first half.

UCLA outgained Penn State 285-92 in the first half, a stunning stat considering that the Bruins entered the game ranked 18th in the Big Ten in total offense (321.3 yards per game).

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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