UCLA stuns No. 7 Penn State for first win in Jerry Neuheisel's playcalling debut
PASADENA, Calif. — New UCLA offensive playcaller Jerry Neuheisel needed all of six strong plays Saturday for the Rose Bowl to break out into a brief “Jer-ry! Jer-ry!” chant. Four plays later, he had all of the Bruins’ contingent rejoicing after the team produced its first lead and first-quarter points of the season.
UCLA came out mostly mistake-free, spirited and put together a string of explosive plays, then caught seventh-ranked Penn State off guard by recovering an onside kick. It was just the start to an opening fairytale script for the homegrown Bruin, who drew up five first-half scoring drives en route to a stunning wire-to-wire, 42-37 victory over the Nittany Lions.
As fans stormed the field, celebrating UCLA’s first win of the season after an 0-4 start that cost the program its head coach and both coordinators, Neuheisel heard the “Jer-ry! Jer-ry!” chants once more as players hoisted him on their shoulders.
It was a scene reminiscent of Neuheisel, once the UCLA backup quarterback, getting carried off the field after relieving an injured Brett Hundley and leading the Bruins to a win over Texas in 2014. That moment, however, was on a neutral field in Arlington; this one was in his familiar home surroundings in a light swarm of fans who had nightmares of a potential 0-12 season.
“First thing I want to say is I love UCLA more than anything, and the kind of kids that you see that played on that field today is exactly why you love a place like this,” Neuheisel said. “We had two days to practice the new game plan, and all they did was believe, and we came out and played as hard as we could for 60 full minutes. … How can you not love college football when you have days like this? Special, special, special.”
UCLA (1-4, 1-1 Big Ten), which came in averaging just 14.3 points and 321.3 yards of total offense, generated 285 of its 435 yards in the first half to take a 27-7 lead into the locker room. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava accounted for five touchdowns, including three rushing to lead a ground game that produced a season-high 269 yards.
Iamaleava’s 7-yard run and a 2-point conversion pass to wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer gave the Bruins a 42-28 lead with 6:41 remaining. Iamaleava led the team with a season-high 128 yards rushing.
The Tennessee transfer quarterback also completed 17 of 24 pass attempts for 166 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Gilmer collected five catches for 79 yards.
“Coach Jerry has been here for a while now. You know, I knew coach Jerry I want to say, going back to my senior year, you know, when UCLA was recruiting me (out of high school),” Iamaleava said. “So, I’ve got a good feel for coach Jerry. And man, he just, you know, he puts that belief in us that, you know, that we can go out there and execute. And you know, he put a great, great game plan together for us to go out there and execute.”
Penn State (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten), which has lost back-to-back games, pulled within 42-35 with 4:11 to play and then got a fourth-and-1 stop with 2 minutes left. Iamaleava was stuffed on a gutsy call to run with UCLA on its own 32-yard line.
The Bruins’ defense provided one big stop of their own, however. On fourth-and-2, defensive back Scooter Jackson tackled Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar for a loss of 3 yards with 37 seconds remaining at the UCLA 12.
The Bruins ran three plays before punter Will Karroll milked some clock before running out of the back of the end zone for a safety with 23 seconds left.
The Nittany Lions ran the final three plays, including a short pass up the middle that was lateraled back before Bruins freshman linebacker Scott Taylor forced a fumble and Allar recovered it on the Penn State 37 as time expired and confetti rained onto the field.
Turning point of the game
Iamaleava’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Gilmer was the opening statement, but the onside kick and recovery turned everything up a notch.
UCLA then showed its mettle early in the second half.
Penn State pulled to within 27-21 on star defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton’s blocked punt and cornerback Audavion Collins’ recovery and touchdown with 7:19 left in the third quarter.
On the third play of the ensuing drive, Iamaleava responded with a breathtaking 52-yard run and later capped it by stretching over the goal line for a 1-yard score. That pushed the UCLA advantage to 34-21 before entering the fourth.
After the Nittany Lions cut the deficit to 34-28, their defense committed a key offsides penalty on fourth-and-1 to give the Bruins a fresh set of downs with 9:13 remaining and set the stage for the finish.
UCLA postgame press conference
Neuheisel, Iamaleava, interim head coach Tim Skipper, offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio, safety Key Lawrence and defensive tackle Gary Smith III addressed the media after the game.
Video by Bruin Blitz publisher Matt Moreno:
UCLA standout on offense: Playcaller Jerry Neuheisel
In a space typically reserved for the top players, the story of the day starts and ends with Neuheisel.
Neuheisel took over playcalling duties Wednesday after the program mutually parted ways a day earlier with first-year offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri after just four games. The Bruins went 235 plays over Sunseri’s brief tenure without grabbing a lead while being outscored 33-0 in first quarters.
“Was a short week for him to get ready. Did a great job of using stuff we’ve been doing before and adding new to it,” Skipper said.
Neuheisel’s first drive ended both droughts. UCLA drove 75 yards in 10 plays, highlighted by a 22-yard Iamaleava run and truck over a Penn State defender and his 11-yard strike to Gilmer for the 7-0 lead.
From there, the Bruins were quick and decisive, humming along all half to send a message that things were different, at least for one day.
UCLA was 10 of 16 on third-down conversions and nearly doubled Penn State’s time of possession. The Bruins had the ball for 39 minutes, 17 seconds.
UCLA standout on defense: Safety Scooter Jackson
His fourth-quarter tackle for a loss on Allar deep in UCLA territory was one of six for the Bruins, and the moment that got the party in the Rose Bowl started.
Bruins safety Key Lawrence said Jackson “manifested” the play.
“He literally said, ‘I’m about to go make this play’ and went out there and did it,” said Lawrence, who forced a fumble and had a team-high-tying eight tackles. “so as his big brother and his mentor, like, “I’m so proud of him understanding, like, keep stacking these days. Like I said before, he knows he can do it, so it’s big for us on the back end and it’s big for him, as well, for his confidence and stuff like that.”
Why UCLA won
Earlier in the week, Skipper said he was looking for a more effective script — eight to 10 plays, to be exact — to shake off the early struggles and generate more explosive plays. Well, it turned out to be 10 plays on the nose to produce the game-opening score on a drive that featured two plays of 15 or more yards.
Mission accomplished.
The unsung heroes of the game were a Bruins offensive line that hampered the offense with penalties throughout the 0-4 start. That was not the case against Penn State, with just one of the two first-half penalties credited to the O-line.
“It’s everything, man. I mean, we’ve been preaching about no penalties,” DiGiorgio said. “Coach Jerry talked about no STPs — sacks, turnovers, penalties — before the game. And I think we came out there and really cut down on that. We proved something as an O-line. It was a money game for us. The D-line against Penn State was a good squad, and we came out there and showed them what we’re about, too.”
That gave Iamaleava and the rest of the Bruins an early fighting chance to move the ball freely.
Then, there was a UCLA defense that rode the early momentum and limited Penn State to just 92 first-half yards — including 17 in the second quarter.
Lastly, it was a Bruins team that did not splinter after losing head coach DeShaun Foster and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe after three games. Instead, they rallied around and believed in Skipper, Neuheisel and the idea of pulling off the college football shocker of the day.
“Last night I knew we had a chance. The way they were in our meetings, the way we had our offensive meeting, the way they took to our team meeting — it was the most enthusiastic 0-4 team you’d ever seen in your life,” Neuheisel said. “Then, all of a sudden, you get this delusional optimism, like, ‘We might have a chance at this thing.’ And there’s this belief, and I know it’s really hard because if you’re not in that environment you feel like it’s doom and gloom. But in that building, everyone believed and that’s all it really takes.”
