UCLA vs. Penn State takeaways: Fixing offense is top priority

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — There was a lot of talk after UCLA’s fourth consecutive loss about the possible quarterback of the future. About improvement from the offensive line. About fighting until the end.

One statement said it all when it came to what ails the Bruins most in their bid for a breakthrough.

“Our starting defense held a Big Ten team to three points,” Penn State coach James Franklin told Fox on the field after the game, “so I’m happy with that.”

No matter who played quarterback or left tackle or helped the team tack on that late touchdown during its 27-11 loss to the No. 7 Nittany Lions on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, it hasn’t changed the calculus for an offense that has scored one touchdown in its last 10 quarters.

And, as Franklin pointed out, it came against a second-team defense.

If UCLA (1-4 overall, 0-3 Big Ten) is to have any hope of winning more than one or two more games the rest of coach DeShaun Foster’s debut season, it’s got to fix its offense. The Bruins are averaging 14 points (ranking No. 130 in the nation) and 261.6 yards (No. 127) per game.

The onus seems to be mostly on offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who has made eight returning starters look like they’re playing football for the first time. Bieniemy’s use of quick-developing passes for quarterback Justyn Martin in his college debut Saturday was a step in the right direction. Here are five takeaways from the game:

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Martin is the man

There’s no disputing Ethan Garbers’ great qualities.

He’s a gamer who plays through injuries, led the Bruins to a comeback victory in the LA Bowl and has the respect of his teammates. He’s also struggled mightily in Bieniemy’s offense, with twice as many interceptions (six) as touchdown passes (three) before getting knocked out of the game against Oregon last month because of an unspecified injury.

Enter Martin, who showed an immediate grasp of the offense while completing nine of his first 11 passes against the best defense UCLA has faced this season. Martin also ran for a couple of first downs, converted a fourth down by zipping a pass to Logan Loya and ended his team’s offensive touchdown drought with another pass to Loya.

If efficiency counts, then Martin might just be the quarterback for the Bruins. He completed 22 of 30 passes (73.3%) for 167 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. His lack of glaring mistakes in his first college start spoke to his upside in a complex offense.

Yes, it was just one game, but Martin played his way into deserving a longer look from the Bruins. Foster said he would have to rewatch the game to see if Martin had done enough to put himself in the running for another start.

Here’s our review of the film: Two thumbs up.

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The line held up

UCLA’s offensive line just played its best game of the season. All it took was an injury.

The loss of left tackle Reuben Unije forced offensive line coach Juan Castillo to get creative. He put Niki Prongos at left tackle, moved center Josh Carlin to his old position at right guard and gave Sam Yoon his first start at center.

The new-look line gave Martin just enough time to get off passes for most of the game and helped UCLA’s running game generate 93 yards (counting 30 yards lost on sacks). Both of Penn State’s sacks came in the second half as the Nittany Lions brought more pressure.

The emergence of Prongos, a former walk-on, as perhaps the team’s best offensive lineman is both a feel-good story and an indictment on the Bruins’ recruiting under former coach Chip Kelly. Long-term success for Foster will require a lot more attention paid to bringing in high-end talent at the position.

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How about that ‘D’?

UCLA defenders try to bring down Penn State's running back

UCLA outgaining Penn State on the ground might have seemed like a 1 million-to-one shot.

It happened.

The Nittany Lions managed only 85 rushing yards as part of an offense that was held in check for much of the game. Averaging 496.8 yards of offense and 251 yards on the ground entering the game, Penn State managed only 322 total yards against a scrappy Bruins defense.

Linebackers Carson Schwesinger (16 tackles), Oluwafemi Oladejo (10 tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry) and Kain Medrano (four tackles, including one for loss, and two pass breakups) continued to be the top playmakers on a defense that might have overachieved against the Nittany Lions.

Oladejo’s sack was the first for UCLA since it tallied five against Hawaii in the season opener.

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Manager on duty

Not one to gamble over his first few games, Foster showed some nerve Saturday.

He went for it on fourth and three at Penn State’s 41-yard line on UCLA’s opening drive — the decision paying off when Martin found tight end Moliki Matavao for a nine-yard completion — and kept going for it, the Bruins converting two of four fourth downs on the day.

Foster was less impulsive when it came to the end of the first half. With the ball at UCLA’s 39-yard line and Martin having built some momentum, Foster chose not to run another play rather than take a shot at the end zone.

“Any time we can get in a passing situation that maybe [the opposing defenders] can get their ears pinned back a little bit, you know, they were coming,” Foster said, “so I didn’t really want to put them in a bad situation, and I knew we were getting the ball at [the start of the second] half and just went with that.”

There were some game-management blunders, the Bruins apparently twice forced to call timeout when they couldn’t get in the play call in a timely manner. UCLA also burned nearly eight minutes on its final drive, but at least it resulted in a touchdown.

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Game of the year

A UCLA linebacker tackles a Penn State tight end

Progress and hope are great, but the Bruins need something tangible.

A win over Minnesota would qualify.

Beat the Golden Gophers and all those signs Foster keeps pointing to will have finally led somewhere.

Lose and it’s hard to spot another win on the schedule. Even the season-ending game against Fresno State at the Rose Bowl will come with the team on letdown alert after having played USC.

Minnesota (3-3, 1-2) won’t be a pushover. The Gophers just upset USC and might have toppled Michigan on the road had referees not nullified a perfectly executed onside kick because of an alleged offsides penalty.

If the Bruins want to get this thing turned around, now is the time.