James Franklin Says PSU Has to ‘Stick Together’ After Historic Loss to Winless UCLA

After No. 7 Penn State suffered a shocking 42-37 loss to UCLA on Saturday, Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin wanted his team to stay united moving forward.

“We gotta stick together,” Franklin told reporters following the defeat (5:30 mark). “The coaches, the players in the locker room, the offense, defense, special teams. The reality is we didn’t play well enough in all three phases to win the game. There’s gonna be a lot out there to divide, divide, divide and we gotta tune all of that out and stick together. I think we’ll do that.”

Saturday’s final result was especially shocking considering the Bruins entered the game with an 0-4 start to the season. They became the first team with a record of at least 0-4 to take down a top-10 opponent since 1985.

UCLA jumped out in front with an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter and continued to excel offensively, eventually holding a 27-7 advantage at halftime.

While the Nittany Lions scored 30 points in the second half, their defense couldn’t find a way to consistently slow down Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Iamaleava finished 17-of-24 for 166 yards while scoring five total touchdowns. He also rushed for a game-high 128 yards on 16 attempts.

UCLA’s run game was stellar, picking up 269 yards on 53 carries as a team.

After Penn State advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinal last season, Franklin’s squad has now lost each of its first two Big Ten matchups this year.

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