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STATE COLLEGE — Nick Singleton was in uniform. He even got his customary introduction with the rest of the starters on the Beaver Stadium videoboards before kickoff.
But half of Penn State’s tailback tandem was nursing an undisclosed injury and didn’t see the field Saturday against UCLA. And his absence was felt by the Nittany Lions.
Penn State’s 27-11 win over the Bruins was never remotely in doubt. But the offense didn’t have the same punch without its home-run threat in the backfield, resulting in a somewhat sleepy affair for both teams.
It was a decisive victory for the No. 7 Lions (5-0, 2-0), but not as dominant as fans — and Vegas oddsmakers — were expecting against a UCLA team that looks destined for the Big Ten basement and playing its backup quarterback.
If it looked like Penn State never fully got into rhythm on offense, consider that the Lions expected to have Singleton available to play right up until warm-ups ended.
“I thought we’d have him Thursday. I thought we’d have him Friday. I thought we’d have him today,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “I didn’t find out until after warm-up. (Running backs coach) Ja’Juan (Seider) and (head athletic trainer) Andy (Mutnan) came into the locker room and told me. So literally it was a last-minute deal.”
It was the first time in three seasons that Singleton, the team’s leading rusher, missed a game with the Lions.
Eyebrows were raised on Wednesday when Singleton wasn’t at practice during the portion open to reporters. Penn State listed him as questionable on the Big Ten’s mandatory availability report on Saturday morning.
Without Singleton, Penn State posted season-lows in rushing yards (85) and total offense (322). The Lions finished with 237 yards passing against a secondary that came in allowing 291 per game, one of the worst marks in the nation.
Kaytron Allen tied a career-high with 21 carries and finished with 78 yards and a touchdown.
“My mentality is nobody is gonna get me down,” said Allen, who added that his approach didn’t change when he found out Singleton wouldn’t play. “I’m gonna scratch, claw — anything — to not get me down.”
True freshman Quinton Martin Jr. slid into the No. 2 role and saw his most action, getting four touches, including three short receptions.
“Obviously not having a guy like Nick Singleton is significant,” Franklin said. “But it was a tremendous opportunity for Kaytron to get a few more touches. It was also a great opportunity to get Quinton in there.
“Overall, I think we handled it well.”
Quarterback Drew Allar went 17-for-24 with no turnovers while throwing a touchdown to Tyler Warren and running one in himself on a goal-line sneak.
Eight different players caught a pass with redshirt junior Liam Clifford recording his first career 100-yard game, going for 107 including a 57-yard grab on one of the Lions’ few deep shots of the day. All three of his catches came on third down.
“It’s super fun to see,” Allar said of Clifford’s breakout performance. “He’s super consistent in his preparation and how he goes about his business. So he does all the right things, and it’s good to see him get the reward for that.”
The defense, meanwhile, continued its strong play, holding the Bruins (1-4, 0-3) to 260 yards on the day. Once again the unit was excellent coming out from halftime as UCLA finished the third quarter with minus-9 yards. Penn State has not allowed a point in the third quarter through five games.
The Lions also came up with two fourth-down stops inside their own 25-yard line, including a strong tackle for a loss by safety Zakee Wheatley when it was still a 0-0 game in the first quarter.
“Just playing ball,” Wheatley said. “Using my instincts and my football IQ and shooting the hole when I see it on any down.”
One wrinkle the Lions had to face was Justyn Martin starting at quarterback in place of the injured Ethan Garbers. Despite checking in at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Martin proved to be a swift runner and extended a few drives with his legs while going 22-for-30 with a touchdown.
He also didn’t appear to get rattled from a ferocious hit by Dani Dennis-Sutton early in the game. When Jaylen Reed came free for an untouched strip sack in the third quarter, Martin also managed to recover the fumble himself.
“I was impressed with him,” Franklin said of Martin. “… He seems very poised. The moment didn’t seem too big for him.
“When you’re preparing all week and you don’t have any film on the guy, that can make it a little bit interesting. But overall, our starting defense held a Big Ten opponent to three points” before mostly backups closed out the game.
UCLA got a field goal in the second quarter that was set up by a 53-yard catch-and-run by running back T.J. Harden. The Bruins may have gotten away with one on the play as they blocked the man responsible for the coverage on the back — linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson — before the pass was thrown to spring him wide open.
The Bruins’ lone score came in the final minute of the game on a goal-line fade.
More will be required from the Lions next week when they hit the road to take on No. 11 USC in one of the country’s marquee games.
For one night, they can hang their hat on being only team in the country to start 5-0 in each of the last four seasons, thanks to Georgia’s loss last week. It’s the first time in school history the Lions have piled up four straight 5-0 starts.
They finished 2-6, 6-2 and 5-3 in those past three seasons. In 2022 and 2023 it would have equaled a playoff spot had the new 12-team system been in place then.