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Drew Allar hurt, Penn State Survives in Madison Against Wisconsin

Tagged under: News, Penn State, Pennsylvania Colleges, pfn

| October 26, 2024

                                              ALL PHOTO CREDIT TO PAUL BURDICK SPORTS IMAGES

On a night when Penn State entered a cauldron of emotion on the road, the Nittany Lions exited Camp Randall with a win.

Penn State has gotten to this road test with a 0 in the loss column. James Franklin’s “1-0” approach has been successful in six consecutive games. Penn State entered the game at #3 in the AP poll, with a potential top-5 showdown next week against Ohio State. Many believed the prospect of the monumental BIG 10 game could put Penn State into “lookahead game” territory against Wisconsin, but Penn State was determined to not suffer the grim fate.

Many media personalities/fans credited Drew Allar’s USC performance as a “growing up game”. If Allar grew up against USC, he aged further tonight against Wisconsin. Over the last couple of weeks, Allar has looked and performed like an elite College Football QB. Against Wisconsin, he was efficient, extended plays, and exploited the Badger defense, but only got 1 half of action before going down with an injury.

Potentially the largest talking point of Penn State’s season so far is their slow starts. Against USC, they trailed by multiple scores at the half. Against UCLA, they had a sluggish start against one of the worst Power-4 teams in the nation. Once again, it was another slow start for the offense, but thankfully the defense was elite, per usual.

Under the Camp Randall lights, Wisconsin found the scoreboard first. After a fake punt, Wisconsin was successfully able to pay it off with 3.

Penn State was scoreless through the first quarter, and it was their fault. WR Julian Fleming, after making a nice 16 yard catch, dropped a wide-open potential third-down conversion, a self-inflicted wound. Then, Allar and the offense had a crucial 4th and short. Penn State lined up in sneak formation and the snap was fumbled, a self-inflicted wound.

Early into the 2nd quarter, Allar found Singleton and he made a spectacular one-handed grab.

Late into the 2nd half, Wisconsin would find the endzone and lead 10-7 at the half.

Penn State, once again, had a slow start. This one, however, was more dire. Penn State not only trailed, not only were on the road but also QB Drew Allar went to the locker room to end the first half with an injury. The entire PSU fanbase longed for updates on the PSU QB on if he would return to the game, but he would not.

It was Beau Pribula’s job to lead a second-half comeback on the road, but it was the defense that would make his life easy. Jaylen Reed would get a huge Pick-6 to put PSU ahead.

After Wisconsin went and got a field goal, it was Pribula and the Nittany Lions offense back out on the field. They embarked on a 7+ minute drive and it ended with Pribula finding Khalil Dinkins to put PSU ahead by 8.

This Penn State defense playing with a lead is a scary proposition. With the Nittany Lions leading 21-13, all they had to do was reserve the lead, and they did. Penn State got out of Madison alive and improved to 7-0.

This wasn’t a typical Penn State win. With Allar hurt, Penn State entered uncharted territory for the first time all year. PSU has utilized Pribula plenty this year, but nothing to the extent of tonight. In the wake of Allar’s injury, Pribula handled himself well. He did not seem rattled by the hostile Wisconsin crowd. Penn State struggled running the ball, which is a concerning trend in the last couple of weeks. With the 4th best rushing defense in Ohio State coming into town next week, the once-great PSU rushing attack needs to get back to having success.

At the end of the day, Penn State is 7-0 and one of the best teams in the country. Allar’s injury will be a story to monitor all week ahead of the projected top-5 matchup against Ohio State.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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