A Road Trip? Just What Penn State Needs

By: Courtney Walsh 

So last Saturday sucked. Whiteout was amazing, we had some exciting moments, but when the pressure was at its highest, we folded like an envelope and let Oregon win and mush the dub all in our faces. Am I over it yet? Not really. It was bad for Drew Allar and James Franklin to shut up the haters. Instead, we dumped fuel on the fire. So up next is a trip to Los Angeles, which seems fitting, doesn’t it? A city where people go to chase their dreams. Penn State Nittany Lions have a dream to return to the College Football Playoffs; even with that loss, the dream is alive! So what do we need to do to beat the Bruins, who are going through their own midseason crashout, having parted ways with former head coach DeShaun Foster, along with other coaching members?

Coach Franklin spoke about changes on offense now. Is that a shakeup on the O-Line or a new type of passing game? We will have to wait and see. But one thing is for sure, UCLA is the perfect team to face after a bitter loss, as well as getting out of town for a bit. First things first is how the defense adapts to not having linebacker Tony Rojas on the field for multiple games due to injury. In four games, UCLA has managed to get ONLY 4 touchdowns, so our defense will be hungry and flying all over with opportunities to make plays throughout the game. I would say so far this season, the offense has been subpar after the moves made in the offseason. Drew Allar is super inconsistent, our running back duo is playing average, Wideouts are so-so.

It is time to find out what the deal is. Are we just trying to come together as an offense, or is this unit just not that good, and this is the way the rest of the year goes? The Bruins are bad against the run, a bit better versus the pass, but far from elite. Are the Nittany Lions pissed off after last week? Will they come out aggressive and beat the Bruins into the fetal position by halftime? Or are we going to sleepwalk through this one and make enough plays to get a W but not be impressive?