Drew Allar bails out Penn State with gritty performance with CFP on the line

Controlling your own destiny is the ideal place for a team to be this late in the college football season. Winning the last two games against Minnesota and Maryland guarantees the team out of State College a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

Penn State rolled into Minneapolis as a 10.5-point favorite, and many thought the game would be a straightforward victory, but PJ Fleck’s Golden Gophers made the Nittany Lions earn every yard on Saturday afternoon.

Drew Allar and Penn State’s offense started the game with zero points on its first three drives of the game. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki made adjustments in the second quarter, leading to a big play touchdown to junior wide receiver Omari Evans.

This was a great play design for Kotelnicki against two high safeties. Evans runs between them, and they get confused on the assignment.

Allar was let down by the special teams for most of the game, including Minnesota blocking a Riley Thompson punt that ultimately led to Minnesota taking the lead 17-10.

However, Allar did not let the botched punt phase him, commanding a six-play 75-yard drive in just 44 seconds just before the first half concluded. Allar went 4/4 for 56 yards on the drive, including an impressive back-shoulder throw to Warren that went for 28. The 6-foot-5 quarterback capped off the drive with a hard-nosed scramble into the endzone.

In the third quarter, Allar lost his composure on the sideline as head coach James Franklin chewed him out for failing an attempted timeout and bailing on a pooch punt play. 

This displays the passion and heart that Drew Allar has for this team, and fans should love that about him. James Franklin went over to Allar, seemingly calming him down and stating how much game there was left.

The next time Allar touched the ball, he led Penn State on a 57 yard drive, topped off with a Nicholas Singleton rushing touchdown. Allar took the advice and coaching of Franklin and got his team the lead back late in the third quarter. Allar was fired up after the drive, trying to get everyone on the team to close out the thrilling game.

After a Minnesota field goal cut their deficit to one point, Penn State needed a lengthy drive to chew out the clock. And that’s exactly what Allar delivered.

Penn State executed a fake punt to five-star freshman Luke Reynolds. Franklin showed off his bag of tricks super late in the contest, and if the play failed, Penn State fans would be wanting him banished from their football program. It was a gutsy call by Franklin to say the least, but the game was not over after it.

A tush push on fourth and one nearly iced the game for the Nittany Lions, but there was still time to be drained out. Going for it again on fourth down, Kotelnicki dialed up a surprising pass play, and Allar showed his impressive pocket awareness to step up and float a pass to an open Tyler Warren to win the game.

There was nothing pretty about this battle against Minnesota, but Allar showcased his confidence, grit, and composure to lead his team to a resilient victory.