James Franklin defends Drew Allar, responds to critics on lack of downfield passing

Penn State is one of the most complete and dominant teams in the country through six weeks, and James Franklin doesn’t want to stray too far away from what’s worked so far as his team faces Ohio State today.

The Nittany Lions have a rookie quarterback in Drew Allar, a stark contrast from what that had in a four-year starter with Sean Clifford the past couple of seasons. And while the offense is putting up as many points as anyone, it’s not thanks to a lethal vertical passing game. No, PSU has been an efficient killing machine on offense, storming the ball down opponents’ throats when they get the chance.

However, Coach Franklin knows that the offense won’t have its way with the Buckeye defense. Today, they’ll need to hit some explosives to pull off the victory. He explained as much on the Big Noon Kickoff set Saturday morning:

“Obviously, we got a quarterback coming in here, first year starter, has done a really nice job of managing the game. But we’re going to have to make some plays, whether that’s the run game or whether that’s in the pass game.”

Penn State isn’t going to deviate from their plan just to try and create those opportunities, though. James Franklin is a strong believer in sticking to what got you there.

“One of the things that’s critical is… you can’t come into this game and try to have an identity that you haven’t had the first six games. Everybody’s talking about explosive plays, I get it, but we’ve been pretty successful managing the game the way we have.”

As part of his spot on Big Noon Kickoff, Franklin was then asked by former USC quarterback Matt Leinart how he’s gone about preparing the freshman Allar for such a huge matchup.

“You can’t do it this week, Matt, you know that,” the Nittany Lion coach answered. “It’s really what he’s done since he’s arrived on campus. He lives the position. And as you know, that is critical. From a preparation standpoint, he’s been awesome. He’s very level, very steady, and I’ve just been impressed with how he continues to get better and his understanding of what we do and how we want to do it.”

Luckily, Drew Allar won’t be the only quarterback on the field starting his first game in the Penn State-Ohio State rivalry, because Buckeye QB Kyle McCord is likewise a brand-new starter this season. He’s just fortunate he’ll get his first taste of this matchup in Ohio State’s home stadium.