ESPN College GameDay crew debate Sean Clifford vs. Drew Allar ahead of Penn State vs. Auburn

Two of the College GameDay crew members got the ball rolling early on Friday. The team is in Boone, NC, for Appalachian State’s matchup against Troy. On Friday, Desmond Howard and David Pollack answered questions about the upcoming matchup between the Auburn Tigers and Penn State Nittany Lions. One of the questions the duo debated was which quarterback gives the Nittany Lions a better chance for victory on the road on Saturday, Sean Clifford or Drew Allar. Howard was on the fence about his selection.

“…He’s been there since forever. He’s played in big games and seen just about every defensive imaginable,” said Howard about veteran and starting quarterback Sean Clifford. He doesn’t always come up big you and struggles sometimes. But late in the game, he seems to be able to come through, especially in the first game against Purdue. He wasn’t looking great, but on the last drive, when they needed Sean Clifford the most, he excelled.

“But, I tell you what, that Drew Allar kid, there are a lot of people who want to see him. He’s six-foot-five, 230lbs, and can make all the throws. Has tremendous upside, just doesn’t have the experience. I don’t know; you put him in a game, the defense, they got to defend the whole field; the length and width.”

Clifford might be the more seasoned of the two options, but Allar has all the tools to be an absolute monster under center. Allar is the Nittany Lions’ top recruit from the 2022 recruiting class. The true freshman quarterback is a five-star prospect out of Medina, OH, and was the nation’s 28th ranked player, according to On3 Consensus Rankings. He also ranked No.3 in the country at quarterback and was the third best player to come out of the state of Ohio.

Pollack on Penn State quarterback: This isn’t debatable.

While Howard was a little loose-footed on his choice, for Pollack, there was no debating the answer. It’s Clifford, and that’s it.

“Yes. This isn’t debatable,” said Pollack. “Sean Clifford is a stud. I mean, is he gonna have bad moments? Yeah, but look at his offensive line; that’s why you have bad moments. So, Sean Clifford, the moment won’t be too big for him. He’ll be ready to handle the Auburn crowd, which will be crazy.

I think Clifford was like 28 of 32, like I think he had four incompletions and was insane versus Auburn a year ago. This is not a debate. This is Sean Clifford’s show unless he is absolutely atrocious.”

This matchup will be the second game in the home-and-home between the Nittany Lions and Tigers. Last season Penn State beat Auburn at home 28-20 behind the impressive play of Clifford. The Penn State star quarterback completed 28-32 pass attempts for 280 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Last year it was a raucous environment as the Penn State faithful came out in droves for the team in a whiteout affair. This year Auburn is hoping their fans will do the same when they face them this Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 2:30 CT kickoff and can be seen on CBS.