Grading Drew Allar’s performance in Penn State’s low-scoring Week 5 win over Illinois

Penn State’s offense has looked completely different in 2024 than it did in 2023, and Drew Allar’s development under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has been the biggest reason why. Kotelnicki has unlocked the Nittany Lion’s explosive-play ability but in the team’s Big Ten opener against No. 19 Illinois in Week 5, the Fighting Illini put a lid on Penn State’s offense. 

Even without big plays, Allar still led Penn State to 4-0 with a 21-7 win, which could have been by a greater margin without two missed field goals by much-maligned kicker Sander Sahaydak. Most importantly, in a game where Penn State’s new defensive coordinator, Tom Allen, had his defense playing incredibly well, Allar didn’t make the costly mistake that could have let Illinois back into it. 

It was unremarkable and on a low volume of throws, still, let’s dig into Allar’s outing and grade his Week 5 performance against the Fighting Illini. 

Andy Kotelnicki is known for his pre-snap motions and creative formations which help to create the chunk plays for his offenses. However, on Saturday night, Illinois was living in zone coverages with light boxes and very deep safeties. A year ago, no team would have played Penn State that way, or given Allar that level of respect, but his hot start to the season and 99th-percentile explosive play right coming into Saturday night, demanded it. 

So, Kotelnicki and Allar, instead of hunting big plays, took what the defense gave them. Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton combined for 196 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries and the Nittany Lions produced a 58% success rate for the game and a 64% success rate on the ground. 

The average distance that Allar faced on third down was just 5.0 yards, much better than Penn State’s season average, and the Nittany Lions converted 6-11 but were 0-1 on fourth down when Franklin refused to trot out Sahaydak for a field goal attempt. 

He completed 71.4% of his passes, but there were times, especially on third down, when Allar could have been more accurate. Late in the first half, with just over five minutes remaining, Allar threw a pass behind tight end Khalil Dinkins up the seam on second down, and then rolled out right on  third-and-6 and missed Wallace when he had room to run for the first down. Sahaydak missed his first kick of the night on the next play. 

If this were last season, I would have criticized Allar for his lack of aggressiveness, but the shots weren’t there to take, and when he did have one in the second half, his only attempt over 20 yards downfield, Omari Evans drew a pass interference on a ball that was maybe slightly underthrown, but certainly was catchable. The junior quarterback had an average depth of target of just 6.0, but with a defense desperate to take away deep shots and intermediate crossers, Allar carved Illinois on short throws between the numbers, connecting on 10 of 11 for 68 yards. 

The explosive play is not gone from Penn State’s offense, even after generating just a single explosive play in Week 5, the Nittany Lions are still 64th percentile at 8.8% for the season. Allar understood the opponent and played the game he needed to play to win. Even if that doesn’t come with gaudy numbers, on this occasion it deserves praise.