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Penn State Uses Defense Once Again to Throttle Past UCLA

Tagged under: News, Penn State, Pennsylvania Colleges, pfn

| October 5, 2024

On the scenic trip to State College, many will notice the changing colors of the leaves on the various trees on the way to Beaver Stadium. October is the great divider in College Football. In August and September, we don’t know who the contenders are in college football. It’s not until we hit October, and conference play begins to ramp up that we find the teams that are legit. Of those teams, they often use October as a stepping stone to build on into the final month of the College Football Season, November. So much can change in the 10th month of the year. By the month’s end, teams will be virtually locked into and locked out of the playoffs, and many will be on the fringe of both. Today, two teams on different ends of the College Football spectrum went to battle in the 2nd-largest stadium in The United States.

UCLA is a storied College program, but have not had concrete success in Football as of late. It is no secret that UCLA is a basketball-first school. Names like Abdul-Jabbar, Westbrook, Goodrich, Miller, and Wooden have all graced the hardware for the Bruins. In Football, they are still a prestigious squad, as plenty of alumni have made their mark on the program. After they moved out of the Conference of Champions to join the BIG 10, it has been a struggle. Their only win in 2024 came against Hawaii in their opener. QB Ethan Garbers, who has struggled to start the season, was benched in the wake of the game against Penn State. New QB Justyn Martin got the starting nod and made the most of it.

Penn State entered the game with one of the nation’s top defenses. They rank top-10 in scoring defense in 2024. UCLA came into the game being one of the worst offensive units in the nation, Penn State was expected to be able to show out all afternoon. On the offense, there was an underlying problem that played a major role in how the game played out. Star RB Nicholas Singleton came into the game questionable with an injury. Singelton would not participate in the game, and RB Kaytron Allen assumed most of the RB work. The Nittany Lions entered as a 28.5-point favorite, but UCLA held their ground early.

 

Here’s how it all went down:

 

The Bruins of UCLA came out and went toe-to-toe with Penn State in the first 15 minutes. Matter-of-fact, they outplayed Penn State after the first quarter. At the time, Allar only had 4 pass attempts for 9 yards. UCLA did a great job of not allowing Penn State to establish any sort of rhythm. Early in the game, it seemed apparent that Penn State was missing RB Nick Singleton. Kaytron Allen had nice runs, but the explosiveness of Singleton was missed in the first quarter.

It took until the 6-minute mark of the 2nd quarter for a score. Allar utilized the “tush push” for the first score of the game.

After a UCLA Field Goal, Penn State embarked on a 2nd-half-ending offensive drive. Allar was clinical. Chunk play after chunk play saw PSU get down inside the 10-yard line. When they got close to the endzone, they knew where to go. TE Tyler Warren scored on an Allar pass. This TD was Warren’s 17th TD with PSU, making him the all-time leader for TDs in a career for a PSU Tight End.

Penn State entered the locker room leading 17-3.

Out of the 2nd-half gate, Penn State’s defense was electric. The defensive line made a home in the UCLA backfield. In the third quarter, UCLA had negative yardage. Penn State’s defense being dominant is nothing new in 2024. They are one of the nation’s top 2nd-half defensive teams, allowing just over 2 points per game in the 2nd half this season. The 2nd-half spectaculars have allowed the offense to play stress-free. They were just that, stress-free, on their next scoring drive. Allar delivered great throws all drive long, including a dart to WR Julian Fleming that got PSU down to the 1. Kaytron Allen did the rest, and PSU led 24-3.

By the time the 4th quarter rolled around, Penn State had the game signed sealed, and delivered. They were able to salt away the 4th quarter and leave Beaver Stadium with a

UCLA’s struggles continue, and they drop yet another game. Justyn Martin was solid at QB for the Bruins and was careful with the Football. He also brought a rushing threat, as he had a couple of nice runs that caught PSU by surprise. Defensively, they weren’t as poor as they’ve been in previous games. It has been a daunting schedule for UCLA in 2024. They are home next week as they welcome in the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Penn State continues to win football games. Offensively they have been good, not great. After scoring 7 in the first half last week, they were able to score 14 in the first half this week. The way the defense is playing, having any sort of lead entering the 2nd-half seems to be enough to win the game. Speaking on the win, Penn State Head Coach James Franklin said, ” Our 3rd quarter defense has been incredible.  The Tight Ends, the Runningbacks, and the Tight ends have been great.” Penn State is on the road next week as they make the trip across the country to Southern California to take on USC.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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