Hype surrounding Penn State has them ready to 'slay the dragons' at top of Big Ten

Coming off of an 11-2 finish Rose Bowl victory in 2022, Penn State enters this season hoping to take things to another level. The Nittany Lions have not beaten either Michigan or Ohio State since the 2020 season, and those were their only two losses last year.

Penn State returns a pair of playmakers in the backfield in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen that have fans excited about what’s in store for 2023. Although the Nittany Lions lose starting quarterback Sean Clifford, there is a lot of buzz surrounding his replacement, former five-star prospect Drew Allar.

On3’s JD PicKell explained in a recent episode of The Hard Count why that change at quarterback could be the push Penn State needs.

“They’re getting a lot of hype now and for good reason,” PicKell said. “What would Penn State fans typically say going into last season? ‘Really good roster. Nick Singleton, we’re excited about him, but we just don’t know with Sean Clifford. How far can Sean Clifford take us?’ There was a feeling around Penn State that Sean Clifford was a really good quarterback, but was he a really great quarterback? Was he gonna be enough for you to beat Michigan and Ohio State? The eventual answer to that question was not necessarily was Penn State good enough collectively — Sean Clifford included — to beat Michigan or Ohio State in 2022.

“…Drew Allar is set to take the reigns for the Penn State offense. It feels like, for Penn State fans, they have finally taken the governor off of the car. You love Sean Clifford. I believe Sean Clifford should get all the credit in the world for taking Penn State to where they are now. But there’s a feeling now that Drew Allar allows that engine offensively to rev a little bit more. Maybe he’s gonna be able to open the offense and stretch it vertically with a little bit more consistency. A little bit more precision. He’s got a rocket for an arm. We saw that in the spring game. We knew that about him coming out of high school.”

Allar ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the 2022 class according to the On3 Industry Rating, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Only Clemson‘s Cade Klubnik and Alabama‘s Ty Simpson came in ahead of him.

Allar appeared in 10 games last season while backing up Clifford and flashed his potential to throw for 344 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Add in that Penn State signed former Kent State receiver Dante Cephus, the No. 8 receiver according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings, and it’s easy to see the optimism around Allar.

The defense, which returns seven starters, should also be solid yet again. That in mind, Penn State stands its best chance in recent memory to contend for a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff if it can manage to take care of the Buckeyes and Wolverines.

“You pair (Allar) with the backfield of Kaytron Allen, Nick Singleton,” PicKell continued. “They were as advertised as freshmen. Dante Cephus, big-time get through the portal from the MAC. You’ve got Abdul Carter, who was a phenom freshman that Charles Power was way ahead of everybody else on in our industry with recruiting. Kalen King was a top 10 player for us. Olu Fashanu was gonna be a top 10 pick for Penn State on the offensive line this past season. Said, ‘you know what? Unfinished business at Penn State.’

“All these things on paper are aligning for Penn State to go and slay the dragon. To go and beat Ohio State. To go beat Michigan. That’s the mission now for Penn State.”