Grading Drew Allar’s performance in Penn State’s Week 6 win over UCLA

Through the start of the 2024 season, Penn State had a lot of learning to do. It needed to learn how this new-look coaching staff with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and defensive coordinator Tom Allen would function. 

In wins over West Virginia, Bowling Green, and Kent State, it appeared that Kotelnicki had unlocked the explosive passing game with Drew Allar and those worries about the former five-star quarterback would never be uttered again. Those games gave more reason to be concerned about Allen’s defense. Now, after Big Ten wins over Illinois and UCLA, the script has flipped. 

Allen’s defense has been dominant and Kotelnicki’s big-play passing game has had to settle for 21 and 27-point performances. Still, even with defenses beginning to punch back against Allar, the junior quarterback is finding ways to win, and though the stat lines bear some resemblance to last season’s underwhelming performances, this Drew Allar is a different Drew Allar, no really, I swear. 

Penn State was without star running back Nick Singleton in Week 6, so even more of Andy Kotelnicki’s offense was on Drew Allar’s shoulders. Kaytron Allen filled in admirably with the lion’s share of the carries, but without an explosive running back to share the backfield with, Allar attempted 24 passes, the most he’s thrown this season. 

Even with Singleton in action, the Nittany Lions have a scarcity of offensive playmakers, but the advantage Allar and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki do have is an elite offensive line. Allar was only pressured on three of his 26 dropbacks, and with UCLA doing its best to limit explosive plays in the passing game, Allar got the ball out of his hand quickly, averaging 2.57 seconds to throw, by far his quickest of the season. 

Penn State’s passing offense generated the most big plays in the country over the first three games of the season, so Illinois and UCLA both lived with two-deep safeties and dared Allar to beat them with consistency underneath. It didn’t come with eye-popping numbers in Week 6, but once Allar settled in, he dissected the Bruin’s defense with impressive precision. 

Penn State punted on its first two drives and Allar struggled to find a rhythm, missing on two of his first four throws. Then, facing a third-and-11 early in the second quarter, Allar jumpstarted the first touchdown drive of the game with a 26-yard pass to Liam Clifford. 

Clifford emerged as his primary target this week, catching three passes for 107 yards. That particular throw may have been his best of the day, hitting the younger brother of his predecessor up the seam against Cover 2. Attacking the seam is one of the best ways to generate explosives against Cover 2 if you trust your quarterback to layer the ball over the zone linebackers and to hold the safeties with his eyes. Allar did both exceptionally well on this throw. 

The NFL media had an existential crisis after the first few weeks of the season because defenses were deploying two-deep safeties so often that it was killing downfield throws. The reality is that you can still deep Cover 2 and Cover 4 deep if your offensive line can protect your quarterback long enough for those routes to develop.

Penn State will continue to see plenty of those looks going forward, even with arguably the best running back duo in the country, and unlike most of the NFL, the Nittany Lions don’t have a protection problem. 

Drew Allar wasn’t perfect in Week 6, he missed a few throws that he would almost certainly like to have back, and against Ohio State or even USC this Saturday in LA, those incompletions could be more costly. However, Allar looks incredibly confident and has always been comfortable taking what the defense is giving him. Now, he’s accurate enough to beat teams with precision and has a play-caller who will help him generate explosives, even if defenses are desperate to take them away.