Did Penn State discuss playing Drew Allar in the Lions' 17-7 win over Northwestern?
STATE COLLEGE — As Penn State fans grew more and more restless with the team’s struggling offense on Saturday, one refrain became common at Beaver Stadium and on social media: Put Drew Allar in.
The former five-star and freshman from Ohio played in each of the Lions’ first four games before its latest win by a 17-7 count over Northwestern. All of his snaps have come after halftime and, for the most part, only after the Lions had built a comfortable lead. It never did that on this rainy afternoon, however. Instead, Penn State plodded through four quarters of inconsistent offensive play. It ran the ball 58 times compared to just 20 pass attempts.
Starter Sean Clifford had his worst game of the season. He completed only 10 of 20 passes for 140 yards and had both a touchdown and an interception. His receivers did not play particularly well, either. But whenever this attack struggles, there is a race to put all of the blame on Clifford’s shoulders immediately. Fairly or not, he’s a sixth-year player and fourth-year starter who still makes many of the same mistakes in 2022 that he did in 2019.
With all of that said, there is no indication that a change was ever thought about, even if Penn State didn’t eclipse the 100 yards mark in either the second or fourth quarters. Head coach James Franklin was asked after the game if the team ever considered putting Allar in.
“It’s not something that we talked about on the headset,” Franklin said. “Obviously, we’d like for him to get in the game. But, it’s not something that we talked about. It’s not something I brought up. It’s not something Mike (Yurcich) brought up.”
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Penn State must be better on offense to reach its goals
Penn State is 5-0. Many teams are not. And so, the context of the offense needing to be better must start with that realization. Yet, the last two weeks have not been good. Before Saturday’s lackluster performance, the Lions struggled against Central Michigan to consistently move the ball. This game with the Wildcats was different due to rainy and windy conditions. Franklin said after the game they are not an excuse for fumbles or missed opportunities. But, it played a role, without question.
“The weather [was a factor] today, for sure,” Clifford said. “And then last week, I thought we played well. The first two drives were really good. They made some some really good adjustments. We play good teams here. So, they’re going to make some adjustments to. But, at the same time, we’re 5-0.”
A bye week is here for Penn State to focus on itself before a top-15 clash with Michigan. How the situation will be handled at quarterback moving forward will be a key talking point for fans and the media. But, while many may be rushing to make a change under center, Saturday showed that the Lions aren’t making any plans to do so at this point in time.
