Things have been a disaster in Los Angeles as the UCLA Bruins were off to an 0-4 start to the season leading to the firing of Head Coach DeShaun Foster. This weekend, everyone looked at their matchup with Penn State and thought the Nittany Lions would demolish them as they were motivated coming off of a loss to Oregon.
Instead the Bruins came out and threw the kitchen sink at Penn State and they never took their foot off the gas. After opening the game with a touchdown, UCLA surprised Penn State with an onside kick taking a 10-0 lead before Penn State touched the ball. The first half by UCLA was dominant as they jumped out to a 27-7 lead and the Nittany Lions fought back as best they could but, they never caught up.
With a chance to go and tie the game, the Nittany Lions ran a read option that UCLA read like a book and it may have ended the Nittany Lions season.
Penn State's loss has changed the entire College Football Playoff race
Despite their loss to Oregon, the Penn State Nittany Lions entered the weekend as the 7th ranked team in the AP Poll. This was a game you could never imagine this team losing and now with two losses this early in the season, they're on the outside looking in for the College Football Playoff race and they may not have a chance to ever get back inside.
Games against Ohio State and Indiana still loom for this team and based on how the Nittany Lions have looked this season and the fact that James Franklin is awful in big games, it's impossible to see a world where they go unbeaten the rest of the season.
Coming into the season, everyone saw Penn State as a Playoff team with Drew Allar and a ton of key pieces returning. Now it's almost impossible to imagine this team can get back into the race and if they miss the Playoff it would be an absolute disaster. James Franklin and his team need to run the table and even then, they could end up needing help to make the Playoff.