PASADENA, Calif. — A stunned James Franklin could do nothing but wait and watch as every one of his players shuffled off the field at the Rose Bowl. While UCLA students stormed the field and the Bruins celebrated their first win of the year, the Penn State coach slowly made his way through the tunnel to a smattering of boos from the Nittany Lions fans in attendance.

A week after going toe-to-toe with No. 2 Oregon at home and dropping its first game of the season, No. 7 Penn State compounded its error in shocking fashion. Led by interim coach Tim Skipper, interim defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle and interim offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel, UCLA won 42-37, handing the preseason No. 2 team the biggest upset of this college football season and one of the worst losses of the Franklin era.

“We made mistakes today that we normally don’t make,” Franklin said. “A ton of missed assignments, turnovers at critical times, penalties at critical times, things that we really don’t do and have not done for a very long time.”

Since 1936, only four teams ranked in the AP top 10 have lost to a team with a record of 0-4 or worse. The last time it happened was in 1985, when UTEP beat No. 7 BYU.

“Obviously, we did not handle last week’s loss well,” Franklin said. “We also lost some players in that game during the week and then everything else, travel, everything else. [We] did not come out with the right energy to start the game. … That’s my responsibility and I didn’t get it done.”

Despite being favored by more than 20 points, the Nittany Lions came out flat and allowed UCLA’s offense to dictate the tempo — the Bruins held possession of the ball for nearly 40 of the game’s 60 minutes. They also successfully executed an onside kick in the first quarter and forced a fumble to start the second half.

“Nobody in the world expected us to win,” UCLA cornerback Key Lawrence said. “Let’s be honest here, like, everybody doubted us.”

Coming into the game, UCLA ranked as the 134th offense in scoring; in its previous four games, it had scored a total of 57 points. Saturday’s sudden offensive explosion was powered by a whopping 269 rushing yards, 128 of them by quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who gave Penn State’s defense fits all game and scored five touchdowns — three on the ground and two in the air.

“I feel like today there was a lack of focus,” Penn State linebacker Amare Campbell said. “It’s tough, we played our heart out. It was some of the worst ball we’ve played, and we still almost won. It has to be better.”

Down 27-7 at halftime, Franklin’s team showed life in the second half, scoring 30 points, but it wasn’t enough. Iamaleava and the UCLA offense continued to have their way, converting 10 of 16 third-down situations and scoring twice more. Penn State’s defense, which was missing starting linebacker Tony Rojas, who is out with a long-term, unspecified injury, had no answer.

“It’s embarrassing. It’s bad,” defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton said. “We all got to look in the mirror. There’s not one person, it’s not one coach, not one player. It’s literally everybody.”

Franklin preached unity to the players postgame, adding that they must tune out the noise that will try to “divide” them following the defeat. Before the season, Franklin had said that he believed this Penn State team had the best combination of talent and coaching he had ever been a part of. On Saturday, he was asked about those comments.

“How am I supposed to answer that when we lose the last two games? Obviously, that’s all that matters,” Franklin said. “Obviously, I felt that way or I wouldn’t have said it, but after two losses, it’s hard for me to answer that question and say that that’s the case.”

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, for his part, said he thought the team was mentally ready for the challenge at the Rose Bowl. When presented with the question of whether the Nittany Lions — who were on the short list of preseason title favorites — were still in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff with two losses to their name, Allar scoffed.

“Yes,” he said. “I firmly believe we have one of the best cultures in college football. I don’t think one or two games define us.”