The Penn State Nittany Lions football team welcomes the UCLA Bruins to Happy Valley as a Big Ten opponent for the first time today. Before the two storied programs kick off at noon, get ready for the game with the Penn State Football Tailgate Show! Former Penn State offensive lineman Landon Tengwall joins us for 90 minutes of pregame discussion about the upcoming game.

This week, we’ll discuss the team’s matchup with another wounded opponent that comes into the game as a nearly 30-point underdog, making the 2,500-mile trip for a 9 a.m. local-time kickoff. Join us on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel or locally on 99.5 and 107.5 The Bus. The Penn State Tailgate Show is a joint production between Blue White Illustrated and Seven Mountains Media.

Penn State vs. UCLA “A significant step”

Despite winning 21-7 against Illinois in a primetime clash, Penn State head coach James Franklin struck a different tone on Monday during the lead-up to today’s game against UCLA. The head coach opened his press conference with a message to his team about how they played in the win.

“One of the things I talked to the team about is the importance of us taking a significant step this week and not having to be one of those teams you see all over the country that have to have a setback first before they make a wake-up call and take a significant step,” he said.

We’ll discuss what that means to Tengwall, who has been in the room when Franklin delivers the message to his team each week.

From there, we’ll discuss the specifics of where we think the team needs to improve from last week’s performance, given Franklin’s comments. As usual, we’ll break down the offense and what sort of performance we expect from them during the upcoming game. We’ll also discuss the latest with running back Nick Singleton after he wasn’t present during the open portion of practice this week.

Defensive preview, what grouping will we see this week?

After Penn State freshman Dejuan Lane played 25 snaps against Kent State, the young and talented safety only saw six snaps last week. How much did that have to do with the opponent and how much did that have to do with the plan to get him ready in less competitive games?

We’ll break down what we expect from the defense this week and what we can learn about the team as they enter the most difficult portion of its schedule in mid-October and early November.

Finally, we’ll give our score predictions and discuss how we think the game will play out. Join us on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube channel to get your thoughts on air via the live chat!

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