Penn State Welcomes in Former Pac-12 UCLA into the BIG 10 this Weekend

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

Mason Eddinger | October 2, 2024

                                   ALL Photo Credit to Paul Burdick Sports Images

From “White-Out Energy” to the Stripe-Out, Penn State plays its 4th consecutive game in Beaver Stadium. One of the four former PAC-12 teams that joined the BIG 10 comes to town this week, UCLA.

In their first four games in 2024, Penn State has been one of the best teams in the country defensively. They rank 6th in D-1 FBS football in Points Per Game allowed. One of the anchors of that front is Abdul Carter. Last week he was named National Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the win over Illinois. After the win last week, he said, “It starts up front, we held [Illinois] to 35 rushing yards, if you can’t run the ball, you can’t win.

The 6th-ranked Nittany Lions defense has been ultra-impressive, but more specifically, the 2nd-half defense has stolen the show. In 2024, they trail only Ohio State in 2nd-half defense with 2.3 points per game allowed. Furthermore, across the last two games, Penn State has not allowed a single point in the 2nd-half against Illinois or Kent State. One of the catalysts of the defense is DL Zane Durant, who has been phenomenal so far in 2024, spoke on what makes Penn State’s 2nd-half defense so special, ” It comes from confidence from playing the game, I can’t speak for everyone else, that’s just my take on it.” In the win over Illinois, Penn State held the Illini to just 39 yards of total offense from the 1:41 point in the first half, when Illinois had the ball at Penn State’s 2-yard line. This defensive dominance becomes more relevant when looking at their opponent this week. UCLA ranks 122 out of 134 eligible teams in 2nd-half scoring offense. The Bruins have been incapable of scoring in the 2nd-half, and Penn State has been incapable of letting teams score in the 2nd-half. It should be an interesting story to see unfold.

Offensively for Penn State, it’s been up and down. On the bright side, Penn State is a top-10 unit in rushing yards per game. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen have been one of the best RB duos in the nation in 2024. The passing attack, however, has been less explosive. Penn State currently ranks 47th in the nation in passing yards per game. To their credit, virtually no Power-4 school can have top-10 rushing and passing attacks. QB Drew Allar, although not asked to throw a ton, has been solid. His 8-1 TD-INT is one of the elite marks across College Football. Against a UCLA team that ranks outside the top 100 in passing yards allowed in 2024, Allar should find success.

The move to the BIG 10 has not treated the UCLA Bruins fondly so far. They are 0-2 in conference play, and their only win of the season so far came against Hawaii, and they only won by 3. In their last outing 2 weeks ago against Oregon, starting QB Ethan Garbers threw 2 INTs in the loss. In 2024, Garbers has 3 TDs and 6 INTs. Penn State coach James Franklin said, ” UCLA is a team that is still trying to find their way, offensively, defensively and special teams. You see them play really well at times, it will be tough for them coming into our place. Especially with them dealing with travel, just like what we’re going to be dealing with in the future.” Franklin also gave praise to UCLA OC Eric Bieniemy, who has a plethora of experience in the NFL, saying that he has done impressive things with the Bruins in 2024.

BIG Noon Saturday will be in town for the affair between the #7 Nittany Lions and the UCLA Bruins. It should be a fun time at University Park with the touted pregame show. I don’t believe, however, that the Bruins will have a fun time in their across-the-country matchup with Penn State. UCLA is traveling over 2500 miles, and I believe it will affect their play. On top of that, the game will kick off at Noon, which is 9 AM local time for UCLA. I believe Penn State handles business and wins comfortably.

In terms of in-game festivities, former Penn State Lineback Paul Posluszny will be recognized with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute during Saturday’s contest. Posluszny will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December.

SCORE PREDICTION

#7 PENN STATE 38 UCLA 10

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews