Penn State has 30 minutes to stave off its worst loss in the James Franklin era at UCLA: First half recap

PASADENA, Calif. — Penn State football is 30 minutes away from suffering both its second loss of the 2025 season and also its worse setback in the James Franklin era. UCLA (0-4) won the toss, elected to receive the opening kickoff, and has throughly dominated the No. 7 Nittany Lions (3-1) ever since. The Bruins lead the Lions 27-7 at halftime here at the Rose Bowl. And, it has been as ugly as that score indicates.

After 30 minutes of play, Penn State has 92 yards to UCLA’s 295. The Bruins are 7 of 8 on third down. They have throughly mashed a Nittany Lions defense that is playing its first game without star linebacker Tony Rojas. He, of course, was lost to a long-term injury earlier this week. His replacement, Dom DeLuca, has been attacked by the Bruins offense. And, it’s worked very well. UCLA passer Nico Iamaleava is 14 of 18 for 158 yards and two touchdowns. The hosts have 14 first downs to the visitor’s eight. UCLA is 4 of 4 in the red zone while the Lions are just 1 of 1. The total plays disparity is 41-21. And, the time of possession difference is 19:25 to 10:35 in favor of UCLA.

“We just got to get them settled down,” Lions coach James Franklin told CBS Sports at the half. “They did a good job on the first drive, and then obviously the onsides kick got us. They got momentum. We’ll get them settled down. We’ll be fine in the second half.”

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UCLA scored first before indeed surprising the Nittany Lions with a successful onside kick. They added a field goal to their total at the end of that drive. Penn State’s lone score came on a Kaytron Allen 13-yard touchdown run. Andy Kotelnicki’s attack has otherwise looked out of sorts much as it has all season.

Bruins kicker Mateen Bhaghani added a 54-yard field goal at the horn to reach the first half margin. Penn State gets the ball to start the second half.

“We’re just inconsistent right now,” Franklin told CBS Sports. “We’re not playing the way we can play in all three phases. We’ll get him cleaned up here at halftime.”

Can Penn State get it cleaned up at halftime, though? There is a lot to fix in just 15 minutes. The defense looks lost. The offense is not in sync. And even the special teams made a brutal mistake.

Follow the second half live by clicking here.