What we learned from the Nittany Lions' win over UCLA

STATE UNIVERSITY | No. 7 Penn State improved to 5-0 with a 27-11 win over UCLA at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. The Nittany Lions started slowly but eventually earned a solid win over the Bruins. Here are the best takeaways.

The Nittany Lions' running game fails without Singleton

Without running back Nicholas Singleton, who was listed as questionable on Penn State's availability report and ultimately did not play, the Nittany Lions' rushing attack faltered.

Kaytron Allen had 21 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown. True freshman Quinton Martin Jr. was No. 2 again on Saturday, finishing with one carry for one yard and three catches for 18 yards. But Penn State's total rushing yards and 2.8 yards per carry were both season lows – and the yardage was Penn State's lowest since 49 yards per carry last year.

“Obviously not having a guy like Nick Singleton is significant, but it was a great opportunity for Kaytron to get a few more touches and it was also a great opportunity to get Quinton in there,” Penn State coach James said Franklin after the game.

Quarterback Drew Allar and the passing game made up for it with another consistent performance. Allar was 17 of 24 for 237 yards and a touchdown, while Liam Clifford had a career-high 107 yards on three catches, highlighted by a 57-yard deep ball in the fourth quarter.

Penn State stumbled in the first two series but took control from that point on. A 16-play, 82-yard touchdown drive gave the Nittany Lions the lead, and their next three drives resulted in two more touchdowns and a field goal.

“UCLA is a really good team,” Allar said. “They had a top-15 defense in the country last year and a lot of the same players are still there. We knew it would be a challenging game. Once we found our rhythm, we were almost unstoppable. It’s just about getting into the rhythm quicker and getting the ball out quicker.”

Penn State's defense continues to make key stops

UCLA quarterback Justyn Martin made his first career start and looked solid for the most part. “I was impressed with him,” Franklin said. “…He seemed very even-tempered. The moment didn’t seem too big for him as a quarterback who was starting for the first time.”

But the Bruins struggled to capitalize on his early success. One of the game's key plays was a fourth-and-1 from Penn State's 23-yard line on UCLA's opening drive. Bruins running back TJ Harden got the carry and was blasted by safety Zakee Wheatley for the stop. Linebacker Tony Rojas said the big play helped get the defense going.

“We just feed off how we play,” Rojas said. “Whether one of us, whoever it is, makes a play, we feed off that energy and it just leads to the next series. And the whole team, it really touches us.”

Two drives later, the Bruins got it inside Penn State's 10-yard line after a 53-yard catch-and-run by Harden. Here too, the Nittany Lions held strong and forced a field goal.

When UCLA fell behind in the second half and escaped the run, Penn State's pass rush was able to pick up the slack. The Nittany Lions finished the game with seven tackles for loss and two sacks, one for Jaylen Reed and a sack shared by Zane Durant and Amin Vanover. Edge rushers Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton were constantly in the UCLA backfield, getting hits on Martin and forcing incompletions.

The Bruins scored a late touchdown to make it 27-11, but Penn State's defense fought back when it mattered most. So far this season, the Nittany Lions are only allowing 11.4 points per game.

Penn State continued its dominance in the third quarter

Penn State has taken over its games in the third quarter this season, and Saturday was no different. It starts with the defense, which has allowed just 87 third-quarter yards in 46 total games this season — an average of 1.9 yards per game. As a result, the Nittany Lions have outscored their opponents 45-0 in the third quarter this year.

“With (former defensive coordinator) Manny (Diaz) being here, we just went out after halftime with the mentality, 'You're not going to score coming out of halftime.' … We just have the mindset that we’re going to stop them,” Rojas said.

Offensively, Penn State's offense remained efficient on its two drives in the third quarter, scoring a field goal and a touchdown to extend the lead to 24-3.

Penn State visits USC on Oct. 12 for its first Big Ten road game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

More Penn State football

The Penn State-UCLA Availability Report

Tony Rojas wants to continue Penn State's tradition as Linebacker U.

Beaver Stadium has been named college football's “rowdiest” stadium

Sam Woloson has covered Penn State athletics for three years and is currently managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson