Watch Penn State head coach James Franklin's postgame press conference following win over UCLA
Penn State improved to 5-0 Saturday following a 27-11 win over UCLA. The Nittany Lions came into today’s game more than four-touchdown favorites against the Bruins, but a slow start on offense had fans concerned early on, as the Nittany Lions totaled just 28 yards of offense in the first quarter.
However, that all changed in the second quarter, as quarterback Drew Allar led the Nittany Lions on a 16-play, 82-yard drive that lasted more than 8 minutes to put up the first points of the game. After Penn State’s defense allowed a field goal, the offense then put together one of their nicest drives of the season, going 75 yards in two-and-a-half minutes that resulted in a five-yard touchdown from Allar to tight end Tyler Warren.
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From there, it was all Penn State in the third quarter, as the Nittany Lions scored 10 more points but also held the Bruins to minus nine yards to take a 24-3 lead. It wasn’t until the final drive of the game that UCLA was able to find the end zone.
“We held UCLA to minus nine yards in the third quarter. So that was significant,” said head coach James Franklin during his postgame press conference. “It’s really cool to see Liam Clifford with over 100 yards today. So now, when you watch on tape, Trey [Wallace] has beat people. Omari [Evans] obviously is an issue. Liam showing up, Julian [Fleiming] showing up, the tight ends showing up, the running backs. So, it makes it difficult when they’re not sure who they can or will take away in the game.”
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Franklin also hit on a few key milestones that Penn State has accomplished in recent years.
“Penn State is 5-0 for the fourth straight year. We’re the only school in the country to start 5-0 in each of the last four years. It’s the first time that’s happened in school history, so that’s something we take a lot of pride in. And then, our defense has held Big Ten opponents under 100 yards rushing in four straight games and 15 of the last 16 games. So, that was cool.”
The Nittany Lions now turn their attention to the other Los Angeles based school, with next weekend’s road trip to USC being their biggest game of the season so far. The Trojans are set to face Minnesota on Saturday evening but are currently ranked No. 11 nationally in the Associated Press Poll.
