Grading Penn State's performance vs. UCLA in Week 6

The script flipped on No. 6 Penn State against UCLA on Saturday afternoon. Not only did the 0-4 Bruins shock the nation, but they did it by torching a normally stout Nittany Lion defense. Penn State's offense, which has often been blamed for losses, was actually quite productive in a 42-37 loss. So, what can we make out of Penn State's upset loss?

Here is a look at this week's postgame grades for the Nittany Lions.

Quarterback: B

Drew Allar definitely wasn't the problem for Penn State on Saturday. He did a nice job staying efficient through the air, and he never forced the ball into traffic despite playing from behind all day. The downfield passing element wasn't really there, but I think that's just the reality for Penn State's offense. Allar was also clutch with his legs and led the team in rushing with 77 yards. He was quick to bail on passing plays, which doesn't reflect too favorably on his receivers' ability to get open, but the scrambles were effective nonetheless.

Running backs: B

Penn State ran the ball fairly well against UCLA's defense, with Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton combining for 90 yards on 18 carries. Allen was the more productive back, averaging 6.3 yards per carry and two touchdowns compared to Singleton's 4.0 yards per carry. The Nittany Lions couldn't establish the run as much as they wanted to because they trailed for much of the game, but the backs made plays when they had opportunities.

Wide receivers and tight ends: C

It was nice to see Kyron Hudson get involved with 52 yards and a touchdown on four receptions after he failed to make a catch against Oregon. But as one receiver made plays, another one disappeared. Coming off a two-touchdown game, Devonte Ross was a non-factor. Trebor Peña contributed with some short catches, although the designed runs that were effective against the Ducks did not work well against the Bruins. Penn State needs to get its full receiving corps involved (and open) if it wants to have a better passing game.

For the tight ends, Luke Reynolds had a good game with 46 yards on four catches, but he had a bad fumble in the second half. Khalil Dinkins got wide open up the sideline for an easy 40-yard touchdown in the third quarter that helped spark the comeback effort, though it ultimately fell short.

Defense: D-

Where do we even begin? UCLA absolutely embarrassed Jim Knowles' defense. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who was written off by many as a transfer portal bust, was unstoppable with his arm and legs against Penn State. He piled up 128 yards and three touchdowns, many of which came due to poor contain and missed tackles from the Nittany Lions defense. UCLA running backs Jaivian Thomas and Anthony Woods amassed 123 total rushing yards themselves. For reference, they averaged just 58 combined yards per game prior to facing Penn State.

Beyond the run defense, the third-down defense was frustrating. Penn State let the Bruins convert 62% of their first downs, including on several runs from Iamaleava where the Nittany Lions just didn't have a quarterback spy. The defense certainly missed injured linebacker Tony Rojas, but Penn State was out-schemed regardless by a first-time play caller in Jerry Neuheisel. Neuheisel deserves credit, but the Nittany Lions made the job too easy for him.

There were good individual moments, like Zakee Wheatley's fourth-down stop on Iamaleava and consecutive sacks from Amare Campbell and Zane Durant. But the bottom line, the defense wasn't good enough, and there's no excuse after the program invested so much into hiring defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

Special teams: C-

The kickoff return unit was caught napping in the first quarter, as UCLA easily recovered a surprise onside kick. Dejuan Lane and Keon Wylie cheated toward the middle of the field, leaving the sideline open for the Bruins to grab the kick. Kudos to the Bruins for seeing that on film, but the error helped spot UCLA a 10-0 lead.

The special teams got points back in the third quarter when Dani Dennis-Sutton came through clean to block a punt, which Liam Clifford picked up for a touchdown to make it 27-21. During the final moments, though, Penn State didn't rush the punter and allowed him to waste time on an intentional safety play. The extra seconds probably didn't matter, but it was another example of not being prepared on special teams.

Coaching: D

With two minutes to go in the first half, Franklin wanted to milk the clock on offense and keep UCLA's offense off the field. After two run plays and a scramble from Allar, Franklin let the clock tick down to 26 seconds ahead of a 4th-and-2 from the UCLA 44-yard line. On that play, Allar ate a big sack, and the Bruins ironically had enough time to drive down and score a field goal anyway. This sequence was way too conservative for a team down 24-7. To me, you should try to score quickly and then use your timeouts to get the ball back for another scoring drive. Franklin didn't have the confidence in his defense to do that, and his passiveness backfired.

The other big coaching decision came on a 4th-and-2 at the UCLA 9-yard line with 26 seconds left. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki dialed up an option where Allar could hand it off to Trebor Peña on a sweep or keep it himself. Allar kept it himself and was absolutely stuffed.

If Kotelnicki wanted to run the ball, why not give it to Allen, your power back who was averaging 6.3 yards per carry? Or why not pass the football, which was working well on the last few drives? If you wanted Allar to use his legs, how about calling a roll-out pass and giving him the option to throw or run? It feels like virtually anything would've been better than a shotgun option play with a long mesh point.

Overall: F

You can cherry-pick positives from this game if you want, but it doesn't hide the fact that Penn State lost in a historically unlikely upset. The Nittany Lions weren't ready, and the Bruins played like this was their championship game. The season isn't over, but it's going to take a lot for Franklin and this team to win back their fanbase and the voters' trust.

Penn State will be back in Beaver Stadium next weekend to host Northwestern. The game is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FS1.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Grading Penn State's performance vs. UCLA in Week 6