2025 PSU at UCLA
Oct. 4, 3:30pm EDT/12:30pm PDT, Rose Bowl Stadium, CBS-TV
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#7/6 PSU 37 UCLA 42
Game Flow & Summary
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Game Five
First Half
This game could, in fact, be the most disappointing loss in Penn State history. A winless opponent (with an interim head coach in his 2nd game & a rookie offensive play-caller making his debut) builds leads of 10-0 and 27-7 on a Top 10 team and then hangs on at its 9-yard line for the most improbable win in the last 40 years of college football. Shaky defense and tackling (with a key player injured), inconsistent offense and play-calling, and mistake-prone special teams play conspired to hand PSU a loss that dropped the pre-season #2 in AP out of the poll altogether after week 6 of the season. A possible national title contender becomes a question mark for the playoff picture with a 3-2 record. The 2025 Nittany Lions are line to be the most overrated Penn State team since the squad from the 1999 end-of-season collapse.
1st quarter begins—Penn State defers and kicks off to UCLA—Gabe Nwosu’s kick is a touchback giving the Bruins 1st and 10 at their 25
UCLA 1st possession would cover 75 yards in 10 plays ending in a touchdown—PSU had immediate issues handling the passing and especially the running of Bruins QB Nico Iamaleava who had been a target of criticism over the 1st four games of the UCLA season after guiding Tennessee to the CFP in 2024—Four plays put the Bruins in PSU territory, but their drive appeared to stall at the PSU 34—On 3rd and 11, Iamaleava runs the draw up the middle for 22 yards and a first down at the 12—Two plays later, on 2nd and 9 at the 11, Iamaleava finds Kwazi Gilmer open on the left, and AJ Harris CB gets a stiff arm in the face and can’t prevent the lunge to the pylon for the 11-yard TD—For the first time this season, UCLA actually leads a game—Penn State finds itself trailing 7-0 with 10:26 to go in the first period
Mateen Bhaghani makes the PAT after the UCLA TD and then kicks off—But the onside kick is part of the plan if the Bruins lead, and Bhaghani delivers a beautiful chip shot 19 yards into an empty spot on the field to his right—Kanye Clark of the Bruins nearly catches the ball on the fly and then easily recovers at the PSU 46—It appeared that Dejuan Lane S shifted to his right vacating the territory just before the kick; UCLA burned him and literally erased PSU’s first possession of the game
UCLA 2nd possession begins at the PSU 46 and will cover 40 yards on 7 plays before stalling and leading to a field goal—UCLA picks up a first down in two plays—On 1st and 10 from the 35, Iamaleava throws left on a little wheel route to an open Titus Mokiao-Atimalala who has Zion Tracy beat at 15 for the catch; he reaches the 11 before going out of bounds on the 24-yard pickup—PSU finally catches a break as two rushes net only 5 yards and a 3rd down pass is high and is tipped incomplete by AJ Harris—On 4th and 5 from the PSU 6, Bhaghani kicks a 24-yard FG and UCLA leads Penn State 10-0 with 7:20 to go in the 1st quarter—Even Bruins fans are stunned by this turn of events
PSU 1st possession finally begins at its 25 after the touchback on the UCLA kickoff—The Nittany Lions respond with a 10-play, 75-yard drive and their first touchdown of the afternoon—Nick Singleton opens with a 7-yard run to the 32—Drew Allar QB completes passes to Kyron Hudson WR and Trebor Pena WR (who has the ball punched-out, but recovers) for 12 total yards as the Lions reach the 44—Kaytron Allen RB gets 4 yards for the first down and Nick Singleton RB delivers what will be his longest run of the game, 13 yards around the right to the UCLA 39—Allar then hits Hudson for 15 yards and 2 plays later hits Andrew Rappleyea TE for 11 yards to the 15—Kaytron Allen handles it from there capping things with a 13-yard dash to the left following RT Nolan Rucci’s lead block right through the hole to the corner of the endzone for the TD (his 5th TD of the year/29th of his career)—Allar was a perfect 4 for 4 for 38 yards on the drive—Ryan Barker’s PAT kick slices it to UCLA 10-7 over Penn State with 2:06 to go in the 1st period—Nobody on the Lions side of the field knew that the good times were over for the rest of the half as UCLA would score on its next 3 possessions of the game while keeping PSU from scoring again until the 3rd quarter
UCLA 3rd possession begins at their 25 after the touchback on the Nwosu kick—The Bruins embark on a clock-killing 8+ minute drive that will extend into the 2nd quarter and will cover 75 yards in 17 plays resulting in their second touchdown of the game—The Bruins reach their 46 in four plays to close the quarter—2nd quarter begins—The lone bright spot for PSU (and it wasn’t very bright) came on 2nd at 5 at the PSU 41 when Zuriah Fisher DE strip-sacked Iamaleava for a 5 yard loss back to the 46 where Nico recovered to keep the drive rolling, and the Bruins converted the ensuing 3rd and 10 with an 11-yard run—UCLA then reaches the PSU 20 where a false start penalty leaves them looking at 3rd and 15 from the 25—No problem, Iamaleava picks up an easy 20 yards on the ground for the 1st and goal at the 5—That play was doubly worrisome for PSU fans as Dom DeLuca LB walks off the field shaking his right arm, but he did return on this drive—The next 2 plays gained a net minus -1 yards—But on 3rd and goal from the 6, Nico Iamaleava throws over the middle to a wide open Titus Mokiao-Atimalala in the endzone for the score (the pass went right through the hands of Zuriah Fisher who just missed his second turnover opportunity on this drive)—The PAT kick is good and Penn State trails by 10 again, 17-7, with 8:50 to play in the first half
PSU 2nd possession begins at the 25 following the touchback on the kick—It will be the last thing they needed, a 3-and-out netting yards in 56 seconds—Kaytron gets 4 on 1st down—Allar then overthrows Pena and on 3rd and 6, Allar hits Hudson and the ball bounces right off his pads-incomplete—Gabe Nwosu punts 46 yards to the UCLA 25 and a 7-yard return sets the Bruins up at their 32
UCLA 4th possession will cover 68 yards on 6 plays and end in the Bruins 3rd touchdown—Three plays move the ball to the UCLA 49, and on 2nd and 4, Nico delivers a big play—The bomb into double-coverage to Kwazi Gilmer is on the money at the PSU 8-yard line between Elliot Washington and King Mack who makes the tackle after the 43-yard gain—2 plays later, Iamaleava runs over right tackle for 3 yards and the TD—UCLA is now seriously shocking #7 Penn State 24-7 with 4:47 to go in the half
PSU 3rd possession begins at the 25 after the touchback on the kick—The Nittany Lions move only 28 yards on 8 plays, and the drive ends in a turnover on downs—The drive starts horribly as Trebor Pena is thrown for 10-yard loss on the end around to the left all the way back to the 15—Amazingly, Allar gets the first down down on a 20-yard completion to Kyron Hudson—Three plays later, on 3rd and 4 at the 41, Allar throws deep down the right side to Devonte Ross WR who has no chance to make the catch at the UCLA 35, but DPI is called (15-yard penalty moving the ball to the UCLA 44)—After the 2 minute timeout, PSU calls three straight runs for a net gain of 8 yards—UCLA then calls timeout with 28 seconds left while PSU ponders 4th down and 2 at the UCLA 36—The Bruins decision to save some time pays off as Drew Allar is mugged (Singleton misses his block) and he throws it short of the first down marker, but he’s ruled in the grasp—It’s actually a sack for an 11-yard loss all the back to the 47 yard line—Turnover on downs to UCLA
UCLA 5th possession begins on their 47 with 22 seconds left in the half—Nico Iamaleava completes a pair of passes for 11 yards and 6 yards to the PSU 36 burning a timeout after each one giving UCLA a shot at a long field goal—It’s 2nd and 4 at the PSU 36 with 3 seconds to go, and Bhaghani comes out and connects from 54 yards—His second FG of the first half—UCLA (0-4) has a commanding lead over Penn State 27-7 at halftime—This is the first time ever that a team has scored on its first five possessions against James Franklin
Penn State fans are comforted, slightly, by memories of the 2024 USC game in LA where the Lions trailed 20-6 at the break, and rallied to win in OT
First half stats: UCLA is 4 for 4 in the Red Zone with 285 total yards to Penn State’s 92 (28 net yards rushing and 1 rushing TD)—PSU ran 21 offensive plays on only 3 possessions in the first half (UCLA ran 41 plays on 5 possessions all of which resulted in scoring)
Drew Allar QB: 6 of 8 passing for 64 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack
Second Half
3rd Quarter begins—Penn State receives opening kick—The touchback sets up the Nittany Lions 1st and 10 at the 25
PSU 4th possession is shockingly brief—2 plays, 13 yards ending with a turnover—It started off badly with a Drew Allar flair pass out to the right to Trebor Pena that lost 4 yards to the 21—On 2nd and 14, Allar goes over the middle to Luke Reynolds TE for the completion at the 36—Reynolds turns up field for a 17-yard gain to the 38 where he has the ball punched out and the fumble is recovered by UCLA at the PSU 38 giving the Bruins their best starting field position of the game
UCLA 6th possession will go nowhere on 4 plays and become their first empty possession of this game—A false start penalty costs them 5 yards which they get right back on a run—Two incomplete passes leave UCLA with 4th down and 10 at the 38—Mateen Bhaghani’s 56-yard FG try is wide left—The score remains 27-7 UCLA over PSU with 13:12 to go in the 3rd period
PSU 5th possession begins at the 38 after the missed field goal—The Lions will cover 62 yards on 5 plays and find the endzone for just the second time in the game—The first two plays net 9 yards setting up a 3rd and 1 at the 47—Kaytron Allen initially bobbles the pitch from Allar but holds on and turns the corner on the right side for his longest rush of the game, 13 yards for the first down at the UCLA 40—Allar then appears to pick up 10 yards on a run to the left out of bounds at the 30, but Kyron Hudson is called for holding on his downfield block and the ball is moved back to the 40—So it’s 1st and 10 at the 40 again and this time Allar drops a pass off to the left on a wheel route by Khalil Dinkins TE who’s wide open at the 24 and he takes it down the sideline for the 40 yard TD (his 2nd TD catch of the season/matching his career best from 2023 & 24)—Dinkins is then called for an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty probably for tossing the ball past the cameras in the endzone, and the 15-yards will be enforced on the kickoff—For Allar it was his 7th TD pass of the season (60th of his career—only Sean Clifford & Trace McSorley have thrown more)—Ryan Barker’s PAT kick makes it 27-14 UCLA over Penn State with 11:28 to go in the 3rd quarter—Gabe Nwosu’s kickoff will be from 20 yard line after Dinkins penalty and it goes 68 yards to the UCLA 12 and is returned 13 yards to the 25
UCLA 7th possession will net only 8 yards on 6 plays, and it will give PSU fans an awful thing… hope—Four Bruin runs will push the ball out to midfield—Then Penn State finally takes control—On 2nd and 8 at the 50, Amare Campbell LB blows right through and sacks Nico Iamaleava for a huge 11-yard loss—It’s 3rd and 19 at the 39, Nico is looking to run, however Zane Durant DT is able to bring him down for a second straight sack and a 6-yard loss back to the 33—On 4th down and 25 from the 33 (the Penn State play of the game) Dani Dennis-Sutton comes through the middle and easily blocks the UCLA punt at the 22—The ball rolls back towards the goal line where Liam Clifford scoops it up at the 6 and takes it in for the score (Clifford’s 1st TD of the season/2nd overall of his career)—It’s PSU’s second blocked punt of the season (DeLuca vs. FIU) and first blocked punt resulting in a TD since 2012 vs. Ohio State—Ryan Barker kicks the PAT and Penn State only trails UCLA 27-21 with 7:19 go in the 3rd period
UCLA 8th possession begins at its 25 after a touchback on the Nwosu kickoff—The Bruins will shake off the punt disaster and move 75 yards in 7 plays to widen the lead once again—Penn State will get UCLA into another 3rd and long scenario right out of the gate, but Nico Iamaleava will do some serious damage on 3rd and 7 from his 28—Nico moves to his left and escapes for 52 yards down to the PSU 20 where Kenny Woseley makes the stop—Two runs later, it’s 1st and goal at the 5—Dani Dennis-Sutton is then pulled offside by the clapping cadence moving the ball to just outside the 2—UCLA rushes to the 1, and on 2nd and goal from there, Iamaleava spins through the middle and extends the ball to break the plane for the score—UCLA by 12—They opt for a 2-point try from the 3 only to have a false start by the O-line bump them back to the 8 where the PAT kick will be good—UCLA adds to its lead 34-21 over Penn State with 2:55 remaining in the 3rd quarter
PSU 6th possession will start at its own 25 and extend into the 4th period covering 75 yards on 10 plays for another touchdown—On 1st down, Allar with the keeper for a big gain of 20 yards out to the 45—Nick Singleton will carry the ball 4 straight times for 15 total yards—The last 6 coming on a key 4th and 1 run for the first down to the UCLA 40—It’s Allar again for a 10-yard run and first down at the 30—4th quarter begins—Now it’s 3rd and 9 at the UCLA 29, and it’s an Allar keeper through the middle for a huge gain of 27 yards to the 2—On 1st and goal from 2, Kaytron Allen goes up the middle for his 2nd TD of the day (his first multi-TD game of the season/his 6th TD of year & 30th of his career)—Ryan Barker's PAT draws Penn State within 6 again, 34-28 UCLA leads with 14:26 left in the game
UCLA 9th possession begins at its 25 after the touchback on the Nwosu kickoff—UCLA does what PSU’’s defense can’t really allow to happen—The Bruins move 75 yards in 12 plays eating up 7:45 off the clock on the way to yet another TD—Nico Iamaleava makes PSU a “Beleava” on 2nd and 11 as he runs for 26 yards to midfield—UCLA works it way to the Penn State 30 where it’s looking at 4th and 1—And just like earlier in the half, Iamaleava draws the offsides call on Zane Durant for the gift first down at the 25—Then a little trickery, Nico slides right and it’s a direct snap to Anthony Woods RB for a 17-yard run to the 8 for first and goal—Dani Dennis-Sutton forces a 2-yard loss on the run, backing the Bruins to just outside the 10 yard line—Two plays later at the 7, Iamaleava scans the field for a receiver and then takes off right for the corner of the endzone—King Mack can’t make the desperation stop at the 1—Touchdown UCLA—They go for 2 again and make it this time on a Nico dart to Kwazi Gilmer who’s drilled by Dom DeLuca but holds on—Penn State is now in major trouble, trailing UCLA 42-28 with 6:41 to go in the game
PSU 7th possession will showcase the urgency of the situation—PSU will move 75 yards on 10 plays in 2 and a half minutes to give themselves a chance… maybe—On 1st down at the 25, Allar considers the screen pass to the right, but tucks and runs left instead for an 11-yard pickup to the 36—Kaytron Allen gets 8 yards to the 44 where Allar tries to catch UCLA with 12-men on the field with a hurry-up play, but gets called for the false start instead when the Lions line is not set at the snap—Allar follows the mistake with a 17-yard pass to Luke Reynolds to move into UCLA territory at their 44—The Nittany Lions move to the UCLA 27 where it’s 3rd and 4—Allar throws short over the middle to Trebor Pena who gets 12 yards to the 15—The next two passes target Kyron Hudson—The first is overthrown, but the second is dead on the money to Hudson in the right side of the endzone for a nice catch with the defender on his back—15 yard TD reception (2nd for Hudson this season/first since week 1-Nevada)—Drew Allar’s second TD pass of the game (8th of season/61st in career)—Ryan Barker’s PAT kick makes it UCLA 42-25 over Penn State with 4:11 to go in the 4th period
UCLA 10th possession begins at its 25 following a fair catch of Nwosu’s 50-yard kick to the 15—Penn State will get what it has to have, a 3-and-out the “hard way” from UCLA—Two UCLA runs get 9 yards to the 34—On 3rd and 1, Iamaleava flairs a pass to Anthony Woods on his right, but Woods loses his footing as he turns and falls near the line of scrimmage—No gain—It’s 4th and 1 (actually inches) and UCLA gets gutsy and goes for it with just over 2 minutes left with a touchdown lead—Iamaleava keeps to his left, but Zakee Wheatley blows up the play for a 2-yard loss and a turnover on downs at the UCLA 32 yard line—it’s the 2-minute Timeout and PSU has itself a gifted chance still trailing 42-35
PSU 8th possession begins at the UCLA 32 and will forever be one of the “greatest worst” series in Penn State offensive history—6 plays, 20 yards, 1:23 of clock time, and 1 huge “what if”—Nick Dawkins C is immediately for an illegal snap on first down for a loss of 5 to 37—Two plays later, the best play of the possession as Allar hits Singleton with the screen pass to the left and Nick gets 16 yards to the 17 yard line—Next play, Allar’s pass to Reynolds in the left corner of the endzone is too tall and off his hands-incomplete—Singleton then loses a yard giving State 3rd and 11 at the 18—Allar goes back to Reynolds for a 9-yard gain to the 9, but they’re 2 yards short of the first—UCLA calls timeout, but it would actually pay off for them—4th and 2 would be a bad idea wrapped in a bad call in a bad situation followed by bad execution—It looked like it was supposed to be an end around to the left on a give to Trebor Pena, but Allar pulls the ball back to run it himself and is immediately swarmed for a 3-yard loss—Allar told media after the game that “the read said pull-it” so he did, and it might not have helped that Reynolds couldn’t hold his block on the left edge—Penn State turns the ball over on downs in the shadow of the ULCA goal post, down 7, with 37 seconds and all 3 timeouts left
UCLA 11th possession shows to some extent that with a winless team it’s never easy, and it’s never over as fast as the 0-4 folks would have liked—The Bruins get the ball at their own 12—Sprinkled in among PSU’s 3 desperate timeouts were 3 runs that netted minus -1 yards back to the 11—UCLA will set up to punt on 4th down, but that really means that they will give up the 2-point safety for a chance at a free kick that can’t be blocked—Somehow, Penn State’s Special Teams didn’t quite grasp that—25 seconds are left in the game as the snap reaches the punter—he retreats into the back of the endzone and easily burns 8 seconds off the clock before AJ Harris reaches him causing the punter to step out of bounds giving up the safety—For some reason there was no punt rush called by Penn State—It was the easiest and most expensive 2-points in Harris’ career and Nittany Lion Special Teams history—UCLA will free kick with a 42-37 lead over Penn State with 17 seconds left in the game
PSU 9th (and final) possession will begin after its lone kick return of the game, and will, not surprisingly, net 0 yards on 3 plays over the final 12 seconds—Bhaghani’s free kick is 73 yards to the PSU 7—Corey Smith returns it 30 yards to the 37 for the Lions last gasp in LA—1st down saw Allar pass short to Singleton on the right for no gain out of bounds—9 seconds to go, Allar goes deep to Hudson at the UCLA 40-incomplete stopping the clock with 2 seconds left—The final play was trying to catch lightning in a bottle—Allar’s pass goes to Dinkins at the 40 and it’s “hook & lateral” time—Dinkins laterals back to Hudson who gets nothing and loses the ball at the 37 where Allar recovers to end the game—No gain, no win—UCLA stuns #7/6 Penn State 42-37 handing the Lions their second straight conference loss leaving them 3-2, 0-2 and staring at a long drop in the polls (completely out of the AP and to #22 in the Coaches Poll)
Penn State has back-to-back losses for the first time since 2021, and it’s also the Nittany Lions first loss to an unranked team since 2021’s 9-OT embarrassment at home with Illinois, 20-18