This post was updated Oct. 17 at 8:40 a.m.
In its first game following the departure of the big three – former head coach DeShaun Foster, defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri – UCLA football (0-4, 0-1 Big Ten) will return to the Rose Bowl on Saturday to play No. 7 Penn State (3-1, 0-1) in the first home game since the start of UCLA’s academic year. The Bruins are 4-3 all-time against the Nittany Lions and last faced off in 2024 at Beaver Stadium, where they fell 27-11.
Penn State’s Offense:
Offensive scheme: Spread
Run-pass percentage: 53% run, 47% pass
Strength: Running game
Weakness: Pass catchers
X-factors: RBs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton
Fans and aficionados have battled over which school, Ohio State or LSU, owns the rights to the title “Wide Receiver University.”
And while Alabama has produced the likes of Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram – representing two of the four non-quarterback Heisman winners since 2006 – Penn State could give the squad a run for its money for “Running Back University.”
The Nittany Lions have produced some of the best collegiate tailbacks in the game, including Franco Harris, Miles Sanders and Saquon Barkley.
And this year is no different.
Most successful teams have one bellcow running back who carries most, if not all, of the team’s carries. Few squads have two.
Penn State’s double-edged sword in running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton not only dominates the team’s offensive production but also allows it to take advantage of opponents by keeping fresh legs in the backfield.
The tailback tandem combined for 2,207 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns in 2024. And the duo’s decision to return for a final year made the Nittany Lions one of the early front-runners for national championship contenders, particularly after they fell in last season’s title match.
Allen and Singleton have combined for 527 yards and nine touchdowns through four games in 2025, with the former averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
The Nittany Lions thrive off the thunder and lightning approach from the backfield and will most likely be the Bruins’ worst nightmare.
The Bruins allow 232.8 rushing yards per contest, the fourth most in the nation and the most out of Power Four schools. UCLA conceded 286 ground yards to Utah and 298 to New Mexico, and it is unlikely the defense will improve when it faces Penn State on Saturday.
And Penn State’s offense does not stop in the backfield either.
Quarterback Drew Allar – a preseason Heisman candidate and projected first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft – boasts all of the intangibles to excel professionally. And while he has struggled to produce so far this season, ranking No. 14 in the Big Ten in passing yards – one spot behind redshirt sophomore signal-caller Nico Iamaleava – he should have no problem picking apart UCLA’s secondary.
Allar is the best quarterback the Bruins have played to date, and the defensive backs let Utah’s Devon Dampier and UNLV’s Anthony Colandrea look like Heisman winners.
The Nittany Lion signal-caller posted just 137 passing yards and an interception on 25 pass attempts in Penn State’s double overtime loss to Oregon last week, and he may very well be looking for a bounce-back performance.
And the Bruins could be the perfect opponent for restoring confidence.
But even if Allar does not have his best game, he does not have to. Expect Allen and Singleton to feast on one of the weakest defensive lines in college football.
The Nittany Lions could break the single-game rushing record come Saturday, and that would not be the craziest thing that has happened to the Bruins this season.
Penn State’s Defense:
Defensive scheme: 4-2-5
Strength: Pass defense
Weakness: Rush defense
X-factor: DE Dani Dennis-Sutton
While the offense will create all of the fireworks at the Rose Bowl, the Nittany Lions are known for their defense.
Even after losing defensive end Abdul Carter, linebacker Kobe King and defensive backs Jaylen Reed and Kevin Winston Jr. to the 2025 NFL Draft, the Nittany Lions still boast one of the most formidable units in the nation.
The front seven is dominated by defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, a nightmare in offenses’ backfield who co-leads the team in sacks and tackles-for-loss with two and 4.5, respectively. His defensive pressure is exemplified by his team-leading six QB hits.
His defensive versatility is demonstrated by his two pass breakups, where he uses his long arms along the defensive line to block signal-callers’ vision and tip passes right as they leave the pocket. Sutton is also tied for second in the conference with two forced fumbles.
He is a game wrecker.
But where the unit is strongest is in the air. The Nittany Lions rank No. 17 in the nation in fewest passing yards allowed per game at 154.5. The cornerbacks and safeties will not only provide the Bruins’ pass catchers – who have struggled to create separation and get open downfield – problems but will also force Iamaleava to utilize his legs and stay behind the sticks.
The Bruins’ passing offense has struggled all season, with Iamaleava yet to throw for more than 260 yards or two passing touchdowns once this season.
And Saturday will not get any easier.
Expect the Bruins to go to the run game – a plan that has yet to work in their favor, and it will be even more challenging in Pasadena – and short-passing patterns in the flat or along the boundaries.
If UCLA is playing a safe game, then plays deep or over the middle of the field will be few and far between. Then again, the Bruins are 0-4 with nothing left to lose, so they could surprise everyone.
Sunseri is gone, and assistant head coach and tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel is calling the plays. And while no one knows what Neuheisel has dialed up, I do not expect that he installed a whole new offense in the last few days.
Neuheisel will keep it simple and play it safe, and if the Bruins come out guns blazing – like they said they wanted to – then the game could quickly turn into a marathon.
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