Penn State is living a nightmare, Lions have all-time 'what if' roster, and more of what they're saying after an upset at UCLA

PASADENA, Calif. — Penn State is being rightly roasted over the proverbial coals locally and nationally following a 42-37 upset loss at UCLA. The Lions never led despite being a 24.5-point favorite. And their College Football Playoff hopes are all but extinguished because of it.

“We made mistakes today that we normally don’t make,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “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.”

Here’s what is being said locally and nationally about the Lions’ second loss of the season.

Penn State is living a nightmare

Steve Patrick of The Washington Post is one of the many columnists who put Penn State under the spotlight in his winners and losers column from Week 6.

“Franklin got to the Big Ten title game and the playoff semifinals last season, then brought back much of the talent on both sides of the ball,” Stevens writes. “(Alas, tight end Tyler Warren was off to the NFL.) Penn State was all in on 2025. And now it has arguably the worst loss of Franklin’s tenure to sort through as it looks to salvage what it can.

“The Nittany Lions’ first three quarters on offense against Oregon and the first half for pretty much everyone against UCLA were the work of a mediocre lot. That’s nowhere close to playoff territory. Neither is Penn State at this point.”

Read the full story here.

Lions’ roster will be an ultimate what-if

CBS Sports’ national college football writer, Shehan Jeyarajah, chose to look at the amount of talent Penn State brought back this season, and what is has produced so far, in his wrapup column from the week that was.

“Five games into the season, the most important roster in Penn State’s 21st Century is lacking,” Jeyarajah writres. “The Nittany Lions still have to play No. 1 Ohio State and No. 8 Indiana, games they will probably lose. This will go down as one of the biggest “what if” rosters in program history. With Franklin, that question will come up for years to come.”

Read the full story here.

Penn State’s 2025 start is worse than it looks

Ari Wasserman of On3 writes that “People were wrong last weekend when they said this is the same old Penn State. No, this, somehow, is worse.” He then goes on to detail what many Nittany Lion fans are feeling after this game: The result is unsatisfactory.

“Franklin has taken so many potshots for never being able to get over the hump,” he writes. “This was the year we were supposed to judge him by. He finally had a loaded roster and the rest of the sport — the Ohio States, Alabamas and Georgias — didn’t possess the stark talent gap they used to. This was it.

“And this is what Penn State fans get? Unacceptable.”

Read the full story here.

Final word

It goes to BWI’s Nate Bauer this week, who awared this week’s worst decisons to a pair of Penn State fourth quarter follies in the loss.

“The most obvious is the one that didn’t work for a Penn State offense with its season on the line,” he writes. “Facing a fourth-and-2 in the red zone, a failed quarterback keeper left Allar swallowed up in the backfield to end the Nittany Lions’ scoring threat.

“The second came earlier, when Penn State’s defense simply could not afford a misstep. Forcing UCLA into a fourth-and-1 at the 30-yard line in the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions needed a stop. Instead, they took a 5-yard offsides penalty by Zane Durant to extend the Bruins’ possession and eat more time off the clock. The very next play went for 17 yards deep into the red zone, ensuring at least a field goal – and ultimately an Iamaleava touchdown – to give the hosts a two-touchdown advantage.”

Read the full story here.