Penn State Nittany Lions most to blame for historically shocking UCLA loss

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Penn State Nittany Lions most to blame for historically shocking UCLA loss

Benjamin Adducchio, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Sun, Oct 5, 2025 ·

3 min read

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The post Penn State Nittany Lions most to blame for historically shocking UCLA loss appeared first on ClutchPoints .

The Penn State football team looks to be in disarray, following a historic defeat to UCLA . Penn State embarrassed themselves by becoming the first top 10 team in 40 years to lose to a team with an 0-4 record. Penn State lost to a team that has an interim head coach, and had very little to celebrate this year until Saturday's game.

The Nittany Lions are completely to blame for this loss. The Nittany Lions entered the contest with a top 10 ranking, despite not having a single win this campaign over a power 4 team. Penn State head coach James Franklin is under fire from fans, who are sick of watching him disappoint them.

There are many reasons why Penn State lost this game, but here are some that show why the Nittany Lions are most to blame for this loss.

Penn State's defense couldn't stop Swiss Cheese

The Nittany Lions had every reason to come out swinging in this game. Penn State had just lost a close game to Oregon , and the Nittany Lions needed to bounce back to build some momentum. The hapless Bruins seemed the perfect target, as the school had recently fired their head coach DeShaun Foster following a disastrous start.

Surprisingly, Penn State's defense looked like zombies out on the field. Penn State allowed UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava to do whatever he wanted all day. Iamaleava finished the game with five total touchdowns.

"We made mistakes today that we normally don't make," Penn State coach James Franklin said, per ESPN. "A ton of missed assignments, turnovers at critical times, penalties at critical times, things that we really don't do and have not done for a very long time."

UCLA rolled up 435 total yards of offense, including 269 rushing yards. The Bruins had scored just 57 points all season, and left the field Saturday with 42 more. That was truly astonishing.

Penn State's offense looked lifeless in the first half

Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Penn State had multiple opportunities in the first half to take control of the contest. The Nittany Lions managed just seven points in the entire first half. It was an astonishingly bad performance from a team with multiple veterans on offense, including quarterback Drew Allar.

"Obviously, we did not handle last week's loss well," Franklin said. "We also lost some players in that game during the week and then everything else, travel, everything else. [We] did not come out with the right energy to start the game.

"… That's my responsibility, and I didn't get it done."

Penn State woke up in the second half on offense, but it didn't matter in the end.

James Franklin got out coached by interim UCLA coaches

The Penn State-UCLA game was remarkable for so many reasons. Franklin was completely out coached by a group of interim coaches. UCLA has an interim head coach , as well as temporary coordinators on offense and defense.

The most glaring example of Franklin being out coached came in the first half. UCLA successfully completed an onside kick, catching Penn State's kickoff return unit asleep.

"Nobody in the world expected us to win," UCLA cornerback Key Lawrence said. "Let's be honest here, like, everybody doubted us."

This was a David vs. Goliath type of football game. Penn State was favored to win the contest by more than 20 points. This will likely be remembered as the worst loss in Franklin's tenure at Penn State .

Penn State faces an absolute must-win game when they next play on Saturday, against Northwestern. The Nittany Lions are still looking for their first win this season over a power 4 conference team.

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