Reeling Penn State players and coaches are looking to salvage season after disastrous two weeks

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The pain and anger was just beginning for Penn State players as handfuls of UCLA fans stormed the Rose Bowl to celebrate their Bruins’ upset win on Saturday.

The Nittany Lions, ranked second in the country just two weeks earlier, still had a nearly seven-hour flight home, where they’d have to relive their loss to the previously winless Bruins in the film room.

“It’s hard to look at,” offensive lineman Drew Shelton said. “You honestly hate looking at a loss, but it’s so important to be able to put it behind us.”

Penn State players are still smarting as they prepare to face Northwestern (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) on Saturday.

After losing their highly anticipated rematch of last season’s Big Ten championship with No. 3 Oregon in front of a hyped-up “White Out” crowd, the Nittany Lions became the first top-10 team to fall to an 0-4 squad in 40 years when they lost 42-37 to UCLA.

What was supposed to be a happy homecoming celebration this weekend for a team with national championship aspirations will now become a search for answers.

Safety Zakee Wheatley said he’s not quite sure what to expect from the Beaver Stadium fans that in just 14 days went from reveling before ESPN’s “College Gameday” to watching their team fall out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in three years.

The Nittany Lions came one game shy of playing for a national championship last year. Now, they know their margin for error is almost nonexistent.

“We’ve just gotta be better overall,” Wheatley said.

Penn State, which returned nearly every key contributor on offense save for star tight end Tyler Warren, ranks 70th in total offense through five games. Coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s group started slow in the loss to the Ducks, then never kept pace with a Bruins’ offense run for the first time by Jerry Neuheisel.

Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions are just 52nd nationally in rushing offense despite returning a veteran line and star running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, who both looked ready to break the school’s career rushing yardage record.

“I think a lot of it so far has just been some combination of four guys doing something right and one guy not holding up their end of the bargain,” Shelton said. “We’ve got to make sure that we work every single day to make sure all five of us are on the same page and playing at the same level.”

While the defense kept the Nittany Lions in the game against Oregon, Jim Knowles’ unit was shredded by UCLA for 446 yards and 42 points.

It didn’t help that Penn State was without stalwart linebacker Tony Rojas, who is expected to miss more time because of an unspecified injury.

“I’ve been places when times get tough the defense is pointing fingers at the offense or the offense is pointing fingers at the defense or special teams,” coach James Franklin said. “We’re not going to do that.”

Mainly because Penn State still has a path to redemption, albeit very narrow.

Tennessee, Georgia, Arizona State and eventual champion Ohio State all made it to last season’s College Football Playoffs with two losses. Clemson got in with three.

Notre Dame, the team that knocked Penn State out in the semifinals, lost to Northern Illinois in Week 2 last season.

The Fighting Irish won out from there until the Buckeyes beat them for the title.

After Northwestern, Penn State visits Iowa (3-2, 1-1). The Nittany Lions have a pair of top-10 opponents remaining: They visit No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 1 and host No. 7 Indiana on Nov. 8.

“I get it,” Franklin said. “We’re not the only team that’s in a similar situation like this. Like I mentioned before, there is examples as recent as last season, teams that have had tough losses and have been able to overcome it.”

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