Yardbarker
x
Penn State Dealt Unfortunate Recruiting News on Sunday
© Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

In Week 6, winless UCLA hosted No. 7 Penn State in a Big Ten Conference showdown. By the end of the game, UCLA stunned everybody with a 42-37 victory.

Penn State fell to Oregon in Week 5, 30-24, in Happy Valley as fans called for head coach James Franklin to be fired. On Saturday, that conversation popped right back up following an inexcusable loss to UCLA, which has an interim head coach and an interim offensive coordinator after the Bruins parted ways with OC Tino Sunseri earlier in the week.

Nobody saw it coming, and Penn State was down 27-7 at the half at the Rose Bowl before scoring 30 second-half points, albeit in a losing effort.

Suddenly, Penn State goes from an undefeated top-10 team to a team that will likely be out of the top 25, although ESPN's FPI had Penn State at No. 19 on Sunday.

To make things worse, Penn State was dealt some unfortunate news on the recruiting front on Sunday.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin and quarterback Drew Allar (15) react after losing to the Oregon Ducks at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn ImagesJames Lang-Imagn Images

On Sunday, Hayes Fawcett of Rivals reported that four-star quarterback Keegan Croucher committed to Ole Miss.

And, he chose Ole Miss over Penn State and Oregon.

Croucher took an unofficial visit to Penn State in June and his top three were Oregon, Penn State, and Ole Miss, but he chose to play for Lane Kiffin's Rebels instead of either of the Big Ten schools.

Croucher plays at Cheshire Academy in Fonda, New York and he is ranked as the No. 9 QB in the Class of 2027, per Rivals.

Croucher had offers from plenty of other programs, including Michigan, Miami, Georgia and North Carolina, so there was heavy interest across the board.

Currently, Penn State has just four hard commits in the 2027 class, but they have four-star quarterback Troy Hunh committed in the Class of 2026.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!