Penn State and UCLA meet on the football field Saturday for the first since Lyndon B. Johnson was President of the United States and a young Joe Paterno was in his third season as coach of the Nittany Lions.
That’s right, the last time the Bruins and Nittany Lions played each other was in 1968. Penn State beat UCLA 21-7 in Los Angeles, and oddly enough, it was the sixth-straight year the schools met. They were the only six games they’ve ever played. For whatever reason, they decided to get together six straight times, and never called one another again.
Further proof that long-distance relationships can be difficult.
Now that they share a conference, we’re slated to see many more meetings between them in the future, but what can we expect from this first contest as conference foes?
Penn State vs. UCLA: Need to know
This game marks a rare event for UCLA football: We’ve gone over how rare it is for these teams to play, but what if I told you this was the first time UCLA played a football game in the Eastern Time Zone since 2014? Well, it is. Ten years ago the Bruins travelled to Charlottesville, Virginia for their season-opener against Virginia. They won 28-20. The wait for the next trip won’t take nearly as long. After returning home to face Minnesota next week, the Bruins will be back in the Eastern Time Zone two weeks from now to face Rutgers. So many frequent flyer miles for this program.
This is the fourth straight season Penn State has started 4-0: For some programs, a 4-0 start is something to be excited about. For Penn State, it’s business as usual. Not only have the Nittany Lions started the last four seasons with a 4-0 record, they’ve gone 5-0 in the last three, and are looking to extend that streak to four straight with a win here. Last year the Lions reached 6-0 before losing to Ohio State, and as any Penn State fan will tell you, the strong starts are wonderful, but beating teams like Ohio State and Michigan would mean far more.
Penn State has won 24 straight against unranked teams: As that previous stat would suggest, this is a team that does well against unranked opponents. The streak of 24 straight wins against teams not in the AP Top 25 dates back to the 2021 season when the Nittany Lions lost 20-18 at home to Illinois in nine overtimes. Yes, that’s right, nine overtimes. The Nittany Lions got some revenge last week, beating a ranked Illinois 21-7.
How to watch Penn State vs. UCLA live
Date: Saturday, Oct. 5 | Time: Noon ET
Location: Beaver Stadium — University Park, Pennsylvania
TV: Fox | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
Penn State vs. UCLA prediction, picks
UCLA’s introduction to life in the Big Ten has not been pleasant. The Bruins are 0-2 and have been outscored by 50 points. Both of those games have been at home and they’ve allowed at least 34 points in each of them. Now they’re traveling to Penn State, and it’s hard to imagine a defense that’s been run over by Indiana, LSU and Oregon will fare much better against the Nittany Lions. Perhaps the early start will lead to a sleepy Penn State performance, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Pick: Penn State -27.5
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