Drew Allar’s game-sealing interception among polarizing but gutsy plays during Big Ten Championship performance
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INDIANAPOLIS — Penn State junior running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen tore up No. 1 Oregon through virtually all of Saturday night’s Big Ten championship game. They combined for 229 yards on 24 carries, 9.54 yards a carry, against an Oregon run defense that ranked in the top 25.
Penn State, after scoring to make it 45-37, received a late gift from Oregon: an uninspiring pair of runs and an ugly deep shot that didn’t run much time off the clock. The Nittany Lions got the ball back on the plus side of the two-minute warning and with two timeouts remaining.
One final chance to knock off the Ducks, win James Franklin’s second Big Ten title and become the No. 1 team in the country with a first-round College Football Playoff bye.
Facing second-and-1 from his own 46, Drew Allar then unleashed a 42-yard deep ball down the right sideline to top wide receiver Harrison Wallace III. Wallace leaped over the Oregon cornerback in front of him.
And he watched Nikko Reed lay out for an acrobatic, game-winning interception.
Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel ran for a first down to ice the game on the ensuing possession.
“Tried to give Tre a chance. I’ve gotta do a better job of ‘him or nobody,’ ” Allar said after the loss. “I’ve just gotta see the leverage with the DB and give him more of a back shoulder, around the body (throw) where it’s going to be him or nobody. Or move on in progression.”
“Give their kid credit,” Franklin followed up. “He made a heck of a play.”
Allar confirmed that Wallace was his primary option on the play. He was reading Oregon’s strong safety, whom he felt did not get deep enough off the snap to deter a throw. The junior quarterback took the chance, as star tight end Tyler Warren began to run free on a middle-of-the-field crosser that was further down Allar’s progression.
Despite Penn State’s dominance on the ground and the ample time remaining on the clock, Penn State, Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki turned to the air and their wide receivers, a position much maligned over the past two seasons for inconsistency.
While Wallace made some of the night’s biggest plays, he and the rest of his position mates combined for just two catches and 38 yards through three quarters. Omari Evans, with one catch for a 22-yard touchdown in the second quarter, was the only other wide receiver with a target in the game. Warren, Singleton, Allen and tight end Khalil Dinkins made up the rest of the receiving production.
Allar finished with 20-of-39 passing for 226 yards and two interceptions. Both turnovers were backbreakers, with the first coming deep in his own territory and being returned by Dontae Manning to the 1-yard line and leading to a touchdown. It was one of the worst throws in Allar’s two years as a starter, throwing well behind Dinkins and into Manning’s arms. He missed other throws in key moments, like an open Warren down the seam before Ryan Barker missed a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter.
But even with his mistakes, Allar was also one of the biggest reasons Penn State had any chance to win Saturday.
After Oregon jumped out to a 14-3 lead, Penn State put itself in a third-and-15 with a false start penalty. A three-and-out might have spelled the Nittany Lions’ early demise, but Allar scrambled and stepped up to find Wallace just beyond the sticks. A 22-yard touchdown to Singleton followed later in the drive.
Down 28-10 after the first interception, he capped a run-heavy drive with the touchdown to Evans. Later in the first half, he rushed for 8 yards on third-and-9 to set up a fourth-down conversion and, eventually, ran in for a 7-yard touchdown.
Finally, one more time with Penn State’s backs against the wall and trailing 45-30, Allar fought through a sure sack on a fourth-and10 — his jersey in a defender’s grasp — to connect with Wallace for the final touchdown of the night.
Allar’s game, like Penn State’s overall, was imperfect. But he was gutsy and made many more of the tantalizing throws he’s supposed to as a former five-star prospect. Unlike last season, he’s no longer playing scared of turning the ball over and is giving his team chances to win week in and week out.
The Nittany Lions started the game with 15-yard facemask penalties on their first two defensive drives. One came on an Oregon fourth-and-1, helping extend the drive. Both ended in touchdowns. Penn State committed 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalties on a first-quarter kickoff and on a second-quarter run. Five accepted penalties for 65 yards compared to Oregon’s three for 24 yards.
Penn State gave up 466 yards of offense and 45 points with just one sack and no turnovers.
And with a chance to tie a thrilling game, controlling the clock with less than two minutes to play, the Lions went away from what got them to that spot. Franklin’s team beat itself too many times.
But still, Penn State outgained Oregon with 518 yards of offense. The Nittany Lions came back from multiple two-score holes and massive momentum-swinging plays to keep things close.
It’s hard to take moral victories from an emotional loss in a conference title game. But there are, in fact, still things to play for thanks to this new age of college football.
Penn State showed Saturday it’s built for these moments and will have a chance at a playoff run.
“At the end of the day, we didn’t do enough to beat the No. 1 team in the country. But I’m proud of our guys,” Franklin said. “We’re going to learn from it. We’re going to flush it. We’re going to move forward. We’re going to get better because of it. We will get better because of this.”