The Penn State Nittany Lions have answered every test so far this season. They enter November ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll and boast a perfect 7-0 record.
Penn State opens November with its biggest test of the season, though, as the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes travel to State College for a Big Noon Saturday showdown.
While the Nittany Lions have home-field advantage, they may be without junior quarterback Drew Allar, who suffered an injury in the first half of Penn State’s 28-13 win over the Wisconsin Badgers last week.
Backup quarterback Beau Pribula replaced Allar for the final 30 minutes and went 11-for-13 for 98 passing yards and a touchdown.
While Allar has been practicing this week, head coach James Franklin isn’t committing to either quarterback for Saturday’s game, calling Allar a game-time decision. He also praised Pribula’s efforts in filling in for Allar last week and delved into why the team is in good hands against Ohio State if Pribula has to make the start.
“He’s got a different throwing kind of style and mechanics than what Drew does. But he gets a ton of reps and a ton of opportunities. And I will say this, too. In the past, there were some challenges where I felt like when he played, we had to call the game differently. And I still believe that. But I also think there’s some times in the past where we didn’t do that, and he would play more of a style of play like Drew. And I think in a lot of ways that’s benefited him, too, because he’s had to prepare as if he’s not the mobile quarterback that he is. So I think there’s positives that come from that as well throughout his development,” Franklin said via On3.
While Franklin and the Nittany Lions would love the more experienced Allar to start, they seem confident in Pribula’s skillset if they need to turn to him again.
[On3]
