PASADENA, Calif. – Saturday’s game was important to Kyron Hudson for a lot of reasons.
He played at USC the last four seasons and transferred with hopes of helping Penn State win a Big Ten or national championship.
He also graduated from Mater Dei High School in the Los Angeles area and played before his personal fan section.
Hudson was the last Nittany Lion player to leave the field after previously winless UCLA’s shocking 42-37 victory Saturday.
“I grew up 15 minutes from here, so this game meant a lot,” he said. “It’s tough to lose, but we just have to continue to try to be 1-0 and soak in the moment. I saw people out there that I grew up with, so it was very cool to see that.
“I had 40 family members here, so that was a blessing for them to come out.”
Hudson was productive, catching four passes for 52 yards that included a 15-yard touchdown that pulled Penn State within 42-35 with 4:11 left.
The Lions didn’t score on offense again.
“We’re gonna stay together and be strong,” he said. “There are things we have to work on, of course, but that’s the main goal.”
Allar leads offense: Quarterback Drew Allar accounted for 278 of Penn State’s 357 yards and two touchdowns.
He completed 19-of-26 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns and ran 11 times for 78 yards.
Allar said that the Lions offense did not have extra pressure because of the defense’s struggles.
“Our job as the offense is to go out and score points,” he said. “We didn’t score enough points today. We did fight. There’s no lack of resiliency on this team. We have to find a way to come out with a different result.”
Allar received criticism after throwing an interception on the final play of Penn State’s loss to Oregon a week earlier. He played Saturday as well as he has played all season.
“Drew’s a baller,” Hudson said. “He’s a great leader. The offense stands behind him. He’s a great player and a great person. He balled out today. I’d ride behind him every single day.”
Interim Skipper: Tim Skipper was installed as UCLA’s interim coach last month after former Bruins running back DeShaun Foster was fired.
The program seemed to be in turmoil because he hired a new offensive and defensive coordinator over the last two weeks.
Skipper coached Saturday’s game like he had nothing to lose. He called for an onside kick that was successful after UCLA scored a touchdown on its first possession. It helped the Bruins build a 10-0 lead they never surrendered.
“We were going to be super aggressive, but not do dumb things,” Skipper said. “The plan was to score a touchdown first and go for it (onside kick). We did a lot of film study, watching those guys. We felt confident in it.
“We practiced that thing just this week. It wasn’t something we have been doing all season. We’re going to always be aggressive. That’s just my nature and the nature of the team now.”
Injury report: Linebacker Tony Rojas, running back Cam Wallace and offensive lineman J’ven Williams did not make the trip to California.
A starter for 20 consecutive games, Rojas suffered a long-term injury earlier this week.
Dominic DeLuca started in his place Saturday against UCLA.
Wallace, who’s been in contention to be the No. 3 running back, and Williams, the former Wyomissing star, were listed as out on the Big Ten availability report.
Offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh, who was listed as questionable, didn’t start, but he did play at guard and tackle T.J. Shanahan started in his place.
Travel roster: Nine true freshmen were among the 74 Penn State players who made the trip.
They were wide receiver Koby Howard, cornerback Daryus Dixson, linebacker LaVar Arrington II, defensive end Chaz Coleman, cornerback Jahmir Joseph, linebacker Alex Tatsch, linebacker Cam Smith, offensive lineman Owen Aliciene and defensive end Yvan Kemajou.
Source: Berkshire mont
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