What did Penn State want, and get, on game-winning touchdown toss?
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State coach James Franklin has long admired the poise and demeanor of starting quarterback Drew Allar. In the span of roughly three game minutes, the sophomore put both on display. He bounced back from what could have been a game-changing interception to instead throw a game-winning 57-yard scoring strike to KeAndre Lambert-Smith with 1:46 remaining to lift the Lions to a 33-24 win over Indiana.
“It just felt good overall just because we missed a couple of the deeper shots earlier in the game,” Allar said. “On most throws, my goal is to just allow the receiver to touch the ball. Allow him to come down with it, make a play after the catch or a pass interference on the defense so we can move the chains again. Luckily, Dre made a fantastic catch. It was pretty good coverage, honestly, but Dre made a really good catch and then was able to stay in bounds and take it the rest of the way.”
Allar admitted that he should have taken a sack instead of throwing a grotesque interception that set Indiana up for a field goal to tie the game at 24. The throw ended his NCAA-leading streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception. But, that didn’t deter him. Instead, he came back a handful of plays later and fired arguably the best pass of his career to date.
“Obviously, Drew was able to sit in there and deliver that ball,” head coach James Franklin said. “KeAndre beung able to make the play, and finish, and stay in bounds, was awesome. Awesome.”
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Penn State got the look that it wanted
Franklin and Allar both said they ran the game-winning play earlier in the contest. It resulted in a sizable gain over the middle of the field. In the fourth quarter, however, Lambert-Smith got one-on-one man coverage. So, instead of cutting the route, he took it deep, got around Hoosiers defensive back Jordan Grier, hauled in the pass, and tip-toed down the sideline to paydirt.
“It was a perfect ball, and I made the play,” Lambert-Smith said. “We got the look that [the play] calls for. And, it worked. I saw man coverage, and I thought touchdown.”
‘KLS’ bounced back just as Allar did. His mistake was a bad drop in the first half. Both players, through their resiliency, helped push Penn State to a victory that was harder than many expected it to be.
