No. 7 Penn State Football made an emphatic statement against Illinois amid the White Out energy of a raucous Beaver Stadium and looks to remain undefeated ahead of a crucial stretch of the schedule when UCLA arrives in Happy Valley on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions enter as four-touchdown favorites, but the test for Penn State may be whether James Franklin‘s program can dominate UCLA in all phases for four quarters and make for an easy Saturday before heading to USC for the biggest test of the season to date, next week.
Here are our Penn State Football vs. UCLA Picks and Predictions
Joe Staszak, Senior Penn State Football Reporter
Penn State is in pretty good shape right now heading into this week’s matchup with UCLA at Beaver Stadium on Saturday at high noon.
It could be perceived as a potential trap game for the Nittany Lions, who are coming off a pretty dominant win over a stalwart Illinois team and are staring at an epic showdown next Saturday versus USC.
But, I don’t see this as an upset special waiting to happen.
Penn State’s defense has been fabulous once again only allowing 11.5 ppg this season. That doesn’t bode well for a UCLA team which has one of the worst offenses in the country (127th in total offense and scoring) and are coming to Happy Valley riding a three-game losing streak.
Quarterback Drew Allar has been efficient so far this year and has protected the ball, as is his staple, throwing just one interception through four games. Penn State’s only weakness so far, and it’s a glaring one, is its propensity for missing field goals. Kicker Sander Sahaydak missed both attempts last week and is just 2-of-5 on the season. As the competition gets better and the games get closer Penn State will need to get that fixed.
Penn State is a 28-point favorite in a sandwich game. But UCLA just doesn’t have the horses or gumption to shock the world. Penn State wins easily.
The Pick:
Penn State 41
UCLA 6
Robert Shields, Penn State Football Reporter
UCLA comes into Happy Valley on a two-game losing streak to ranked opponents this season with one of the worst passing defenses in the Big Ten.
This game will be no different as Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions take advantage of UCLA’s weak secondary for Allar’s second 300-yard game of the season. Penn State gets their starters some rest in the fourth quarter before a huge road test against USC next weekend.
The Pick:
Penn State 38
UCLA 10
Brad Kulp, Penn State Football Reporter
The Nittany Lions get a “scrimmage” this weekend against a rebuilding UCLA under first-year Head Coach DeShaun Foster.
The game will not be competitive, but it needs to be an opportunity for the PSU staff to work out it as much depth as possible headed into the gauntlet of the Big Ten schedule.
The UCLA offense is averaging 14 points per game, while the defense has given up 837 yards & 10 touchdowns through the air to three Power 4 QBs. In their defense, it’s a brutal first year to rebuild with UCLA facing FOUR ranked teams in a row. This team is getting beaten up, and it won’t be any different this Saturday.
James Franklin and company need to kickoff, get lots of smart playing time in for the backups, and finish without injuries.
With the Nittany Lions headed to USC Thursday, this seems like the perfect warmup game.
The Pick:
Penn State 47
UCLA 13
David Pollak, Penn State Football Reporter
UCLA hasn’t scored fewer than 13 points in a game this season, but the Nittany Lions should be able to take advantage against a below-average Bruins squad.
MORE: Key Matchups Penn State Must Win against UCLA
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It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008.It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run.In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic along with 4 Philly Sports and now covers Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
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