By Kyle Golik
There were essentially two short football games played as one yesterday at Milan Puskar Stadium yesterday. The weather “Armageddon” lasted nearly two and half hours, but there was one thing that came out of it for Penn State about their starting quarterback Drew Allar, he got it.
Allar finished the day 11 for 17 passing for 216 yards, three touchdowns, and a QBR of 98.3. It was arguably Allar’s best passing day as Penn State’s starter since last season’s Maryland game when Allar posted a 97.8 QBR, finishing the game with 240 yards and four touchdowns and completing nearly 75% of his passes.
What I noticed against West Virginia was a couple of things that showed the continued maturation of Allar.
First, I noticed Allar really didn’t have a bad throw. The worst pass Allar threw yesterday on an out route in the first half looked either like a miscommunication to the intended receiver Harrison Wallace III or Wallace may have taken the route too deep. Other than that Allar looked decisive in his passing and delivering on target.
On splash plays, Allar’s decision-making shined bright and Penn State profited from them. The connection to Wallace on the opening score in particular was a breath of fresh air. Last year on several occasions Allar missed the read on the defense and Penn State missed out on scores. Yesterday, it was the splash play Penn State needed to shake the Mountaineers.
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At the end of the first half to Omari Evans, you might argue there was a little offensive contact to the West Virginia defender to earn offensive pass interference, but by having the time to locate Evans and get the ball there to give Penn State the opportunity to score before the end of the first half was the back-breaking play for West Virginia.
In the past, what usually kept opponents in games against Penn State is often the offense would miss the opportunity to execute a big momentum swing that allowed opponents to stay longer in the game. I felt the play to Evans and the very next highlight connection to Wallace with 10 seconds to go in the first half truly decided the game. There was no banking on the “Armageddon” storm, but West Virginia had to sit in the locker room down 20-6, knowing Penn State was rolling on offense, and was going to get the ball in the second half.
I honestly felt what enabled Allar to shine was an amazing performance by the offensive line. West Virginia was not able to get to Allar, and that allowed Allar to operate flawlessly in new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s scheme.
During postgame, Allar said of how the offense has developed under Kotelnicki’s new scheme, “We were very intentional on growing that and developing that. It’s fun to be in a system like that, for sure. We really prepared well throughout the week as an offense.”
The preparation looked real against West Virginia, but Allar flashed another element to his game by being able to be elusive, gaining three first downs rushing as a quarterback and finishing with 44 yards rushing on six carries.
Penn State head coach James Franklin had a new nickname for Allar and praised the junior quarterback’s work during the offseason to add mobility to his game, “We call him ‘Lamar Allar’ (rhyming with star Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson). I thought he ran better than probably people expected last year. He’s dropped 10 pounds. I think he’s done a really good job in the weight room becoming more explosive.”
“Obviously mobility at the quarterback position is important, but if your quarterback can get you just two to three first downs a game with his legs, it changes everything. And I thought that showed up today. Some things that we’ve got to get cleaned up, in terms of third down, I think we can be better in that area. But overall, I thought (Allar’s rushing) was big.”
Throughout Allar’s first season at quarterback, the Penn State wide receivers weren’t winning battles against opposing defensive backs and Allar’s reluctance or ability to scramble and move would doom many drives.
The three first downs Allar got with his feet helped extend drives and would be beneficial. Allar’s attempt at a fourth first down rushing came short late in the third quarter and to me was arguably the most impressive improvement I have seen by Penn State.
On a third and eight from the Penn State 26-yard line, Allar dropped back to pass and no one was open downfield. The offensive line held their blocks as well as you would expect when the coverage was there, and Allar didn’t exactly have a smooth transition to scramble. The footwork and pocket presence to weave the backfield and able to scramble to get five yards turned a certain negative play into a positive one. Penn State did not get the first down, but it avoided a coverage sack, gained positive yardage, and puts on tape for opposing defensive coordinators need to dedicate someone on Allar to run, which should open it up for Penn State’s wide receivers.
While Wallace left Morgantown after having a great day at receiver, the game really didn’t answer for Penn State’s receivers for Allar. Penn State’s biggest acquisition was Julian Fleming and he did not register a target yesterday. I cannot be too critical of the unit because of the delay, it seemed the scheme they employed when the game resumed was to get back into a groove. I don’t know how much the delay interrupted Kotelnicki’s approach for the passing game. Had the game had the normal halftime delay, I truly feel Kotelnicki would have opened it up.
If Penn State can get their receivers to make plays, and Allar can continue to properly balance when to scramble or be patient enough to make a play from the pocket, Penn State looks like the second-best team in the Big Ten this year. Oregon, who was everyone’s favorite darling, looked pedestrian against Idaho and the defending national champions Michigan seemed to struggle a bit with Fresno State. If Penn State figured it out, the sky’s the limit for the College Football Playoff and hardware for Allar. Penn State figured out a lot in Morgantown, but one critical component remains and that is the wide receivers.
