By Neil Rudel

nrudel@altoonamirror.com

James Franklin cautioned that the Nittany Lions could not allow last week’s disappointing loss to Oregon to beat them twice.

His fears were completely justified.

No. 7 Penn State came out extremely sluggish Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl, and though it staged a spirited second-half rally, its slow start was too much to overcome, and the Nittany Lions were shocked by previously winless UCLA, 42-37.

“We came out flat and made a ton of mistakes,” Franklin told the PSU Radio Network afterward.

Penn State fell to 3-2 on the season and 0-2 in the Big Ten. UCLA improved to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava was the game’s star player. He rushed 16 times for 128 yards and three touchdowns and completed 17 of 24 for 166 yards and two more scores.

Third-down scrambles were particularly effective for UCLA as Iamaleava, the Tennessee transfer, totaled 94 yards, including a 52-yarder, on three rushes.

UCLA kept Penn State’s defense off the field throughout, owning time of possession by a staggering 39:10-20:50. The Bruins ran 77 plays to the Nits’ 57.

The Bruins converted 10 of 16 third downs, including seven of their first eight opportunities.

UCLA jumped out to a 10-0 lead, punching in a touchdown on its first drive and then stunning the Lions with an onside kick that the Bruins recovered and cashed with a field goal.

The Lions cut the lead to 10-7 on Kaytron Allen’s 13-yard touchdown with 2:07 left in the first quarter, but UCLA wasn’t fazed: It ended the half on a 17-0 run to take a 27-7 lead on Mateen Bhaghani’s 54-yard field goal.

State overcame a fumble by Luke Reynolds at the outset of the third quarter, but Bhaghani missed a 56-yard field goal.

Drew Allar then found a wide-open Khalil Dinkins for a 40-yard score, and the Lions cut the deficit to 27-21 with 7:19 left in the third when Dani Dennis-Sutton blocked a UCLA punt that Liam Clifford recovered for a TD.

The Bruins, though, answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive that included Nico Iamaleava’s 52-yard scramble that gave the hosts breathing room at 34-21.

The Nits pulled within 34-28 on a 75-yard drive of their own, with Allen scoring from 2 yards out.

Once again, though, UCLA answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Iamaleava’s 7-yard TD rush to go up 42-28 after a 2-point conversion with 6:41 remaining.

Penn State responded by going 75 yards and scoring on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Allar to Kyron Hudson, pulling within 42-35 with 4:11 left.

The Lions’ defense stopped the Bruins at the UCLA 32 with two minutes left and drove to the UCLA 9, facing fourth-and-1 with 34 seconds remaining. Allar faked a handoff to Trebor Pena and then was stuffed by Scooter Jackson attempting to go up the middle.

After three UCLA and three PSU timeouts, the Bruins took a safety, melting the clock from 25 to 17 seconds, and making the score 42-37.

Penn State returns to action Saturday, hosting Northwestern at 3:30 p.m.

The Mirror will have more coverage in Monday’s edition of Penn State Extra.