Five things I want to see out of Penn State Football in November

Drew Allar at quarterback

It’s time.

If you’ve read the content on this site for any stretch of time, you know how much respect I have for Sean Clifford and that I think he’s a better quarterback than many folks give him credit for. This is in no way a knock on Clifford and what he’s done over the past six years–as much as many of you would like to interpret it as such.

However, the fanbase is ready to see a new face at quarterback. They’re ready for No. 15.

Now, I do understand there are some potential pros and cons to making the switch to at quarterback. In fact, one of our other writers here at VBR did an excellent breakdown on the matter (click here to read that article).

While I personally don’t see this as waving the white flag on the season, some may think it is. There’s no championship to play for at this point, but running the table is still a step in the right directions and a great way to finish on a high note heading into the offseason.

Does Sean Clifford give Penn State a better chance to win at this exact moment? Maybe, but I truthfully don’t think the gap between he and Allar is that big in terms of how much they can help the Nittany Lions right now. Even if Clifford is the slightly better option, this team should still be plenty good enough to win the rest of the games with Allar under center.

Drew has the physical talent, but Sean has the experience. It does seem though that the true freshman is progressing at a good rate, and with a lot of live reps in the coming weeks, will continue to do so and catch/surpass his predecessor rather quickly.

Starting and playing Drew Allar also allows us to best gauge Mike Yurcich as a play caller, as he would have ‘his guy’ under center. Has he been limited in how he wants to call a game based on Clifford’s strengths and weaknesses?

There will be a lot of hype surrounding Allar heading into the 2023 campaign, and even more so if he already has a handful of starts under his belt by the time toe meets leather in week one against West Virginia next September.

Even if he does not start every game the rest of the way, it would be nice for the staff to be able to find ways for him to play a lot of snaps throughout the last five games.