No. 7 Penn State at UCLA
When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Rose Bowl
TV/radio: CBS (Ch. 2)/790 AM
Records: UCLA 0-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten; Penn State 3-1 overall, 0-1 Big Ten
Line: Penn State by 26.5 points.
NOTABLE INJURIES
UCLA: OUT: DL Nico Davillier (personal reasons), DL Robert James III (undisclosed, season ending), DL Tyler Partlow (undisclosed), WR Jonah Smith (undisclosed, season ending), QB Pierce Clarkson (indefinitely suspended), WR Karson Gordon (undisclosed), OL Jaylen Jeffers (undisclosed), OL K.D. Arnold (undisclosed); QUESTIONABLE: WR Jadyn Marshall (undisclosed), LB Ben Perry (undisclosed), DB Croix Stewart (undisclosed), LB JuJu Walls (undisclosed), DL/TE Grant Buckey (undisclosed).
Penn State: OUT: LB Tony Rojas (undisclosed), LB Max Granville (undisclosed), WR Kaden Saunders (undisclosed); QUESTIONABLE: OL J’ven Williams (undisclosed), LB Kari Jackson (undisclosed), DL Mason Robinson (undisclosed), WR Peter Gonzalez (undisclosed).
What’s at stake? Embarrassment on a national stage, and that goes both ways. UCLA enters the Rose Bowl as super underdogs, about as far from being expected to keep the score close as possible. Penn State is coming off a heartbreaking, double-overtime loss to Oregon during its annual “White Out” game. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, UCLA has scheduled Saturday’s contest as a “Blue Out,” interesting circumstances considering the droves of fans coming to the game from the East Coast will be decked out in navy blue. If Penn State is to take UCLA’s chances of victory seriously Saturday, then what is truly at stake is a place in the College Football Playoff. A loss for the Bruins is just adding another to the pile. A loss for the Nittany Lions might just tank their season.
Who’s better? Outside of special teams, where kicker Mateen Bhaghani is making a case for himself as not just UCLA’s most valuable player in 2025 but one of the best placekickers in the nation, Penn State is far and away the better team. The Nittany Lions are top-25 in most defensive categories, allowing just 11.8 points per game through Week 5. On top of that, Penn State runs the ball well – something the Bruins have yet to be able to do themselves nor defend this season. Yes, UCLA showed huge improvements on the defensive end of the ball in the second half against Northwestern. But that was Northwestern and a 17-14 loss for the Bruins. Penn State can feast on the small mistakes the Bruins make – and have a buffet on the large gaffes.
UCLA wins if: Miracles happen. Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 film, “Magnolia,” explores the concept of coincidence and the uncontrollable aspects of life. Near the end of the film, the camera zooms into a portrait on the wall and a small passage above the bottom of the frame. It reads, “But it did happen.” It’s only impossible until it happens, something the Bruins will need to embrace at the Rose Bowl.
Prediction: Penn State 66, UCLA 10. I have yet to be right while predicting scores this season, but this game should be all but certain, results-wise, when kickoff occurs. It’s not a question of if Penn State will win, but by how many.
