Everything Penn State coach James Franklin said after the Lions lost to UCLA 42-37

PASADENA, Calif. — Penn State coach James Franklin spoke with reporters following his team’s shocking 42-37 loss to UCLA here at the Rose Bowl. He started with an opening statement that can be summed up simply: The Bruins were better than the Nittany Lions in nearly every instance of this game.

“First of all, got to give UCLA and their coaching staff a ton of credit,” Franklin said. “Got to give their quarterback a ton of credit. We obviously had a hard time stopping him all day long, but I think the opening sequence of the game was significant with the touchdown and then the surprise onside [kick] that we talked about all week long, that they were going to take significant risk in this game. And that was obviously two really significant drive and play in the game. So from that point on, we were battling, obviously went in at halftime in a challenging situation, came out and then battled in the second half, but not enough to win the game.

“So give UCLA credit. Give their quarterback a ton of credit. And we made mistakes today that we normally don’t make. Had a ton of missed assignments, turnovers at critical times, penalties at critical times, things that we really don’t do and have not done for a very long time. So give UCLA credit.”

Watch what Franklin said by clicking here to visit the Blue-White Illustrated YouTube channel or see it above. And, you can read his comments below.

On the struggles Penn State had with stopping UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava, particularly as a runner

“Yeah, he had 153 yards, and a lot of those yards came at critical points,” Franklin said. “Couple times we spied him, and when we spied him, he was able to either make the spy miss or run away from the spy. To your point, obviously, we lost a significant player [Tony Rojas] for us last week who, normally that would be his responsibility. But at the end of the day, we spied, and he ran away from the spy. We spied, he made the spy miss. And a couple other times they caught us in man coverage without a spy, and we got out of our rush lanes, and he made a ton of plays.”

Was Penn State mentally focused for this game after losing to Oregon last week?

“Yeah, obviously we did not handle last week’s loss well,” Franklin said. “We also lost some players in that game during the week, and then everything else, travel, everything else, did not come out with the right energy to start the game. And before you know it, obviously they get a touchdown drive and onsides kick, and now you’re fighting. They gain confidence, and we’re fighting for the next three quarters. So that’s my responsibility, and I didn’t get it done.”

On the Lions’ struggles on defense

Yeah, especially when you talk about the first half, third down was not very good,” Franklin said. “We could not get off the field again. They did a really good job of staying on schedule. The second half, we were able to get them off schedule a few times. That’s when Nico really hurt us a few times. But I didn’t feel like watching the game, it was an effort thing. But I did think we made a bunch of mistakes based on what I saw and what I heard.”

On the 4th and 2 play call on the penultimate Penn State possession that got stuffed

“Yeah, obviously, it’s a QB power read where we had an opportunity to get the ball on the edge, divide the defense, get the quarterback downhill, based on the read,” Franklin said. “And they brought edge pressure, which, we we knew it was coming. And they beat the block, and we weren’t able to get around it. They beat the block, got penetration. The read gave us the give read, and they had two guys right at the point of attack, for not only the ball carrier, which would have been [Trebor] Pena, but also Drew [Allar]. So give them credit for the aggressive cover zero call, but we also got to make sure that we’re making the blocks at the point of the attack.”

How will the Lions not let two losses turn into three?

“We got to tune out all the outside noise,” Franklin said. “I thought our guys worked hard at doing that last week, but obviously not well enough. Not well enough. So, you know, we got to stick together. The coaches, the players in the locker room, offense, defense and special teams. The reality is, we didn’t play well enough in all three phases to win the game. There’s going to be a lot out there to divide, divide, divide, and we got to tune all that out and stick together. So I think we’ll do that. I think we’ll do that. Not going to be easy. But I think we’ll do that.”

On how the Penn State locker room was at halftime, trailing 27-7

“We’ve been in this situation before, so I thought the locker room was good,” Franklin said. “Obviously there was some emotion and there was some energy, and there were adjustments being made. We were in a similar situation last year at USC. That was part of the discussion. And I thought we came out and gave us a chance to win the game in the second half. But, not enough, obviously, to win the game. Their quarterback was, in a lot of ways, the difference in the game in multiple scenarios and multiple situations.”

Does he still feel like this is the best personnel he’s had at Penn State like he said at Big Ten Media Days?

“Yeah, obviously that question at this moment, I mean, how am I supposed to answer that when we lose the last two games? Then obviously, you know, that’s all that matters,” Franklin said. “We didn’t win the last two games. But, yeah, obviously I felt that way, or I wouldn’t have said it. But after two losses, it’s hard for me to answer that question and say that that’s the case.”