UCLA vs Penn State Prediction, Game Preview, and Betting Lines

Penn State traveled to Los Angeles in 1968 and came away with a solid 21-6 win on the way to an 11-0 season. That was the last time these two played.

They regularly met in the 1960s, but Penn State was an independent program and UCLA was in the Athletic Association of Western Universities.

(By the way, new Pac-12, that name might be available.)

Let’s just say UCLA is having a hard time adjusting to life as a Big Ten school. It’s 1-3, struggled to beat Hawaii, and hasn’t been close in the three losses. Meanwhile, Penn State is quietly rolling on through with a 4-0 record.

The Nittany Lions go at USC, at Wisconsin, Ohio State next. UCLA has to be more than a tune-up.

UCLA vs Penn State Preview

UCLA vs Penn State How to Watch
Date: Saturday, October 6, 2024
Game Time: 12:00 pm ET
Venue: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
How to Watch: FOX
Penn State (4-0), UCLA (1-3)

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Predicting the Rest of the Season
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | SEC

Why UCLA Will Win

The offense couldn’t do anything against Oregon, the running game is a mess, and there are way too many mistakes defensively. But the run defense is holding up okay.

No one has gouged the Bruin front line quite yet. Oregon and Indiana each averaged over four yards per carry, but they both rolled with the passing game.

Penn State went back to its 2023 ways a bit last week. Drew Allar was accurate, but the offense only came up with 135 yards through the air with nothing happening deep. UCLA has to prevent the deep ball from connecting, and …

Why Penn State Will Win

Yeah, UCLA is having problems.

There’s absolutely nothing happening with a Bruin ground game that can’t generate a push, and now it’s going against a Penn State run defense that’s allowing just 2.3 yards per carry and got nastier over the last two weeks.

UCLA has the nation’s worst rushing attack, the passing game isn’t making up for it, and there are way too many mistakes from a team desperately trying to create some sort of positive momentum.

Penn State will dominate third downs on both sides of the ball and …

UCLA vs Penn State: Who Will Win

Penn State might take a deep shot or two just to air it out a bit, but it won’t take any crazy chances in this.

Expect the score to stay relatively low for a while as the Nittany Lions keep things conservative, and then everything will start to open up. Don’t expect a whole lot of stress after halftime.

UCLA vs Penn State Prediction, Betting Lines

Penn State 37, UCLA 10
Line: Penn State -28, o/u: 46.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
UCLA vs Penn State Must See Rating: 2.5

Week 6 CFN Expert Picks
Texas St at Troy | Sam Houston at UTEP
Houston at TCU | Michigan St at Oregon
Syracuse at UNLV | UCLA at Penn State
Missouri at Texas A&M | SMU at Louisville
Iowa at Ohio State | Auburn at Georgia
Ole Miss at So Carolina | Rutgers at Neb
Clemson at Florida St | Tenn at Arkansas
Michigan at Washington | Miami at Cal
Texas Tech at Arizona