UCLA may have found something in a season that went completely in the wrong direction.

Justyn time, you could say.

With their starting quarterback sidelined due to injury, the Bruins turned to Justyn Martin and watched as the redshirt sophomore made smart, efficient plays early in his first start to keep his team competitive in a game they had to contend with would lose four touchdowns.

On Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium, UCLA finally fell 27-11 to No. 7 Penn State, undone by many of the same problems that had plagued them all season, but there was no doubting the promise of the Bruins quarterbacks.

“Took command of the offense and just made plays,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said, “so we just have to build on that and hopefully we can build some momentum and get going.”

With his first six passes, Martin immediately showed his command of an offense that often seemed like a foreign language to incumbent starter Ethan Garbers. Martin didn't force any shots or make any poor decisions while playing in one of college football's most unforgiving environments against one of its best teams.

UCLA quarterback Justyn Martin throws a pass while being pressured by Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton during the first half on Saturday.

(Barry Reeger/Associated Press)

“I didn't have any nerves – I was more excited,” said Martin, who learned he would start in pregame warmups after Foster decided to hold back Garbers as a precaution due to poor on-field conditions. “You know, it's like my first game in like three years.”

There would be no storybook ending. Martin couldn't pull off a comeback, even though he showed a lot of courage on his team's final drive. The quarterback showed off his speed as he ran for first downs twice. He showed composure by converting a fourth down with a short pass to Logan Loya. He showed finesse when he connected again with Loya on a one-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left in the end zone.

“The biggest thing for us is finishing no matter what the score is,” said Martin, who completed 22 of 30 passes for 167 yards. “We didn’t come here to stay, we came here to win and play until the last moment.”

The question now is: Do the Bruins stick with Martin or go back to Garbers once the redshirt senior recovers from the unspecified injury he suffered last week against Oregon?

Foster indicated that Garbers would keep his starting spot going forward, adding that he would have to watch the game again to see if Martin did enough to make it a contest.

“This is Ethan’s team,” Foster said, noting that Garbers could return next weekend against Minnesota if he progresses so quickly in his recovery. “He’s our quarterback and I think everyone got behind him. But you know, Justyn is the type of player and I think he’ll understand the situation and continue to get reps as the season goes on and just continue to grow.”

Garbers threw a few passes of opportunity during warmups, but it was clear that running was going to be Martin's offense based on the number of reps he took and the extensive instruction he received from quarterbacks coach Ted White.

Martin said offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy also helped by calling plays that maximized his understanding of the scheme.

“I didn’t really have to think much,” Martin said. “How we prepared throughout the week was pretty much what we saw out there. So it was pretty easy to just go out there and make the plays that he was asked to make.”

Martin received another important boost from a reformulated offensive line. Niki Prongos took the place of the injured Reuben Unije at left tackle, Sam Yoon made his first start at center and Josh Carlin moved from center back to right guard, the spot he filled last season.

The line slowed down a bit in the second half, giving up both sacks, while an offense that once looked lively managed just 106 yards in the final two quarters.

Before the game, Garbers told Martin to appreciate the moment and the chance to play a game he loved in front of so many people. For a while he did just that.

Without showing early nervousness, Martin completed nine of his first 11 passes, calming a crowd of 110,047, the 10th largest in the stadium's history. UCLA led everywhere but on the scoreboard after a first quarter in which it outscored Penn State by a combined 72-28, scored the only sack and stopped the Nittany Lions on their two third-down attempts.

Trailing 7-0, the Bruins appeared to be on the verge of a tie late in the second quarter after Martin completed a short pass to TJ Harden on a wheel route that turned into a 53-yard catch-and-run for Penn State's 10-yard line. On third-and-goal at the 7, Martin scrambled for a one-yard gain rather than forcing a pass into tight coverage, allowing Mateen Bhaghani to kick a 25-yard field goal that cut Penn State's lead to 7-3.

Penn State running back Kaytron Allen tries to evade UCLA defender KJ Wallace with a run during the first half on Saturday.

(Barry Reeger/AP)

UCLA's defense also showed early success, just days after UCLA defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe made a passionate and emotional promise to fix the problem. But Penn State quickly went for a touchdown on its final drive of the first half, with quarterback Drew Allar completing passes of 12, 24 and 25 yards before finding Tyler Warren for a five-yard touchdown that increased the Nittany Lions' lead 14-14 increased. 3.

Penn State was just getting started, although the Bruins provided a parting shot with Martin's late touchdown pass.

“The way my guys fight, how resilient they are,” Foster said, “those are really good things to build on.”