The message in last week’s column was all about the defense.

I thought it could be the week where the Penn State defensive front had a breakout game, and that’s exactly what happened.

The Nittany Lions’ defensive team speed proved to be too much for a good Illinois team to handle, as PSU racked up seven sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

The Fighting Illini are also a team that has been good at running the football this season, and it’s a team that looks to establish the run first and foremost each time they hit the field.

The Nittany Lions’ defense held Illinois to just 34 rushing yards at 1.1 yards per carry. Presently, the Penn State defense ranks fourth in the country in total defense, giving up 226.5 yards per game. Teams are averaging just 72 yards on the ground per game against PSU, and the Nittany Lions have held 14 of their last 15 Big Ten opponents under 100 yards rushing.

At noon today (FOX), Penn State welcomes one of the new additions to the Big Ten this season in UCLA.

The Bruins are led by first-year head coach DeShaun Foster after former head coach Chip Kelly left the program to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. The Bruins are 1-3 and 0-2 in Big Ten play and they obviously have been struggling up to this point in the season.

This is a game where I think Drew Allar and the Penn State passing attack could have a big day.

UCLA has not been good at defending the passing game, as it ranks 126th in the country, giving up 291 yards per game. The Nittany Lions’ passing attack is averaging 245.8 yards per game through the air.

On the season, Allar has thrown for 864 yards with eight touchdowns and just one interception, with an impressive 71 percent completion percentage. Tight end Tyler Warren and wide receivers Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans, as well as the rest of Allar’s supporting cast, should be able to find success against the UCLA defense. I think you will see offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki come out with a plan early on to move the ball in the passing game.

If Penn State is able to get out to a sizeable lead early by using its passing attack, I think that’s when you will see it then start to grind out yards in the run game. Expect to see more of Kaytron Allen this week than Nick Singleton as it looks like he is dealing with some bumps and bruises. Singleton wasn’t at practice on Wednesday or Thursday, so it’s something to monitor, but it doesn’t appear to be anything serious.

Singleton (2,221 yards) and Allen (2,058 yards) are the second duo in Penn State history to each have 2,000 career rushing yards, joining Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris.

Highly-touted defensive end Abdul Carter looks to be settling into his new role on the edge after making the switch from linebacker. Carter had a breakout performance last week against Illinois coming through with two sacks, eight quarterback pressures and four tackles for loss.

The Bruins have struggled to protect the quarterback, as they rank 116th in the country in sacks allowed per game. The UCLA rushing attack hasn’t been very formidable this season either, as it averages just 57 yards per game on the ground.

This is a match-up that should heavily favor the Nittany Lions. UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers will be a game-time decision as he is fighting off an injury, but he has three touchdowns to six interceptions on the season.

With the Bruins lack of a threat in the run game, the PSU defense should be able to really pin its ears back and get after the quarterback.

Las Vegas has the Nittany Lions as a 28-point favorite over the Bruins.

This is just one of those games where it’s hard to see a match-up that doesn’t significantly favor Penn State.

My pick is Penn State 41, UCLA 10.