UCLA pulled off the biggest upset in 2025 so far as the 24.5-point underdogs against No. 7 Penn State on Saturday. The Bruins (1-4, 1-1 Big Ten) opened the afternoon with a 10-0 nothing lead after a touchdown drive and a field goal catalyzed by an onside kick recovery. They didn't give up that lead once and beat the Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) 42-37.
In response, head coach James Franklin had a multitude of excuses lined up for reporters after the game. From not handling the Oregon loss well to travel to injuries to not having energy right out of the gate, Franklin's list went on and on. Though, he took responsibility for the lack of preparation after and bounce back from Week 5, Franklin always said throughout the season that it's hard to be Penn State. That it's not easy being the head coach or quarterback for the Nittany Lions with all the outside noise, but that's the job that he and Drew Allar signed up for.
After the loss on the road, it wasn't Franklin preaching that this time. Instead, it was Allar.
"In reality, I try my best not to let those things phase me just because nobody knows what it's like to be in our position unless you've done it before," Allar said in regards to outside noise. ". . . Really it's just, again, we're in the position we're in just because we're Penn State and we have to come out and win games.
"And we have the talent to, but we've just got to go find different results and when you don't get those results, there's going to be things that happen that maybe they are hard to deal with, but it's just learning how to do this thing . . . I've been here starting for a few years now, so I'm pretty used to it."
Drew Allar on what the past two weeks have been like for this personally:
— Lexie Linderman (@lexielinderman) October 4, 2025
“It hasn’t been fun” pic.twitter.com/NiK3gkmWuB
Losing to a winless UCLA team as a team that was ranked second in the preseason shouldn't happen. It doesn't matter if it's Penn State or Texas or Clemson or Ohio State or Georgia or anybody else in the preseason Top 10. The Nittany Lions were expected to win by 24.5 points on Saturday. They should have won with ease. That's not outside noise, that's not an opinion, that's a fact.
A "Penn State has expectations" excuse can only extend so far, but once it reaches an unranked, 0-4 team, that excuse goes out the window. That's an unquestionable expectation. Franklin and Allar need to shake off that "We're Penn State identity," hit the practice field, and work for it. If Allar's used to it, he should know how to overcome it three years in as the starter. He should have come out of that game knowing and owning the fact that the outcome was unacceptable, not falling back on the identity excuse.
“I promise I’ll do everything in my power to right the wrongs,” Allar said. That's more like it.