The Anatomy of an Upset: If UCLA Beat Penn State, Can OSU Find a Way to Win Again?

The unthinkable happened this weekend in the City of Angels.

UCLA, a team that entered the weekend at 0-4, upset then-No. 7 Penn State 42-37.

UCLA is in a similar position to Oklahoma State. The Bruins fired coach Deshaun Foster after an 0-3 start — just like OSU did Mike Gundy. The midyear change mixed with poor results (losses to UNLV and New Mexico) made it feel like a lame-duck season, but Saturday’s win at the very least provided UCLA with a moment it won’t soon forget.

From someone who has watched OSU play the past two years, it made me wonder, could OSU do something like this?

We won’t know the answer to that question until it does or doesn’t happen, but I thought I’d take a look at what UCLA was able to do and see if there’s anything in there the Cowboys could find a way to replicate.

Catch a Team after a Letdown

Penn State went from a white out, national game of the week against Oregon to a mostly empty Rose Bowl in Pasadena. It’s safe to say the Nittany Lions didn’t handle the let down of that overtime loss to Oregon well.

It’s hard to project when OSU can find itself in a similar situation, but for what it’s worth, Houston was 4-0 entering this weekend where the Cougars hosted Texas Tech in the Big 12’s premier game of the weekend. Now those Cougs have to come to grips with the 24-point loss they suffered to Tech before hitting the road in Stillwater.

Control Possession

Perhaps the most shocking part about the UCLA-Penn State game was the fact that the Bruins put 42 points on a Jim Knowles defense while owning a 39:10-20:50 advantage in terms of time of possession.

UCLA ran for 269 yards on the Nittany Lions on 5.1 yards per carry. The Bruins had seven drives take at least three minutes off the clock. Those featured two back-breaking drives: a 17-play, 75-yard TD drive that took 8:16 off the clock in the first half and a 12-play, 75-yard TD drive that took 7:45 off the clock in the second half.

The Cowboys have, at times, this season had success running the ball, but not to that extent. OSU ran for 185 on 5.6 yards a carry against Tulsa and 157 on 4.9 yards per carry against Baylor.

The issue is that ground control hasn’t been consistent. The only teams OSU has out-possessed this year have been UT-Martin and Oregon. That second one was mainly because the Ducks scored so quickly.

So, in order for the Cowboys to replicate this UCLA result, the offensive production needs to be more consistent, which takes us to point No. 3.

A Heroic Quarterback Performance

Nico Iamaleava had a dramatic offseason, but regardless of how you think his breakup with Tennessee went, he is a darn good football player.

Iamaleava completed 71% of his passes against the Knowles-led PSU defense, throwing for 166 yards and two touchdowns. But he also ran tough, going for 128 yards and three more scores on the ground.

Iamaleava was putting his shoulder down and plowing through people and just about single-handedly beat a national contender.

This is an area that feels tough for the Cowboys to replicate given the attrition the position has faced. OSU starter Hauss Hejny suffered a Jones fracture a few drives into the season, and now backup Zane Flores is going to miss time after suffering an injury in Tucson.

But OSU doesn’t have to beat a Top 10 team with one of the best defensive coordinators in the game. At this point, Cowboy fans will take their team beating anyone.

Sam Jackson V is back to being a quarterback following Flores’ injury. It’d be unfair to ask Jackson to turn into Iamaleava, but Jackson does have the ability to run and keep off-schedule plays alive. Maybe that could be enough to catch a team. There’s also still the possibility that Hejny returns this year.

It’s all wishful thinking, but if you would’ve told me Friday that UCLA was going to hang 42 on Penn State and beat the Nittany Lions, I might’ve recommended you see a therapist.