Allar Leaves with Injury in 3rd
Not that it would have helped to keep him in the game, but Drew Allar got up woozy after a third quarter run and left after the next play. He did not return to the game, which Penn State incidentally won 27-6. Beau Pribula took over, playing out the game. The offense blew big time, but they won anyway.
Why the hell can’t Penn State throw just once on first down? Why do they always run on third downs? Why must they be so predictable? Are James Franklin and Company so timid about the pass because they fear failure? Yeah, yeah, I know. He won’t apologize for winning. I expect to hear some version of that again this week. But this is not competitive football at the highest level.
Maryland was competitive against Michigan this week. Why the hell could Penn State, with its vaunted defense, not compete? The answer is obvious and it transcends whoever the hell it is that holds the Offensive Coordinator job.
Repetition of the Same Failed Play
The old Einsteinian definition of insanity. Repeating the same failed thing over an over. Yeah, that’s the Penn State offense. They make it necessary for the defense to win games.
Inside the Red Zone, trying the same screwed up T-formation QB run up the middle is so unimaginative, I think a 12 year-old could have called better offense. Send Kaytron Allen up the gut on a well executed fake and let Pribula bootleg to the outside? Leak a tight end out and make an easy throw? I know, simplistic. But this damn offense is too fucking predictable. Everybody in Beaver Stadium including the Rutgers Defense KNEW that they would come out and run that same damn play on Fourth Down!
Let’s Try the Run
So, they ran the ball somewhat successfully this game. The problem with going from a failed passing offense to a running offense, involving your quarterback in it, is what evidenced itself today. Drew Allar, playing pseudo-halfback, smashes into the defense and gets hurt. That scenario is more than a risk. It is almost a certainty.
They wouldn’t let Pribula throw until he finally completed one pass to Tyler Warren, which was more like a toss. No doubt, the Rutgers brain trust were well aware of the predictable timidity.
Nick Singleton had a good game running, but they didn’t bring him in until the second quarter. On Penn State’s last touchdown drive, he was effective, driving down to the goal line. He had scored only one touchdown all season, and the crowd was rooting for him. So what happened on the touchdown play? Beau Pribula fumbled the handoff and ran it in himself. So, Kaytron Allen had two touchdowns and Singleton none.
And In Summation…
All in all, they were lucky to get out of there with a win. Not a wonderful performance on Senior Day. I know I sound jaded, but this reminds me of the Rutgers game two years ago when I was bragging about Penn State in front of my Chicago in-laws, prior to watching yet another embarrassing offensive performance. Yet I would take the Sean Clifford offense, in which the coaching staff had confidence in its quarterback and had some decent receivers, over this group which puts the pressure on the defense to win games.
I sure hope they aren’t similarly disappointing on Friday in the season’s finale against Moo U!
(I’ll be back mid-week to deal you some more offensive sarcasm in advance of the [cue stentorian tones] BATTLE FOR THE ABOMINABLE LAND GRANT TROPHY!)
