Penn State head coach James Franklin has often been criticized for not being able to win the “big game,” but ahead of him is a chance for his No. 3 Nittany Lions to take on the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes in Happy Valley this weekend.
It’s a massive game for Penn State. The only problem is that starting quarterback Drew Allar left the win over Wisconsin this past weekend with a leg injury and didn’t return.
He’s questionable for this huge clash with OSU, but Franklin hasn’t come close to ruling him out. Franklin seems to think Allar can go for the Nittany Lions even if he doesn’t practice much.
“I think he’s played enough football for us that, that timeline will go all the way up to the game, really,” Franklin said on Monday, according to On3. “I do think from a practice perspective, no matter where we’re at on Tuesday, we’re going to have to get both of those guys reps, Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s too early to tell at this point.”
The other guy Franklin is talking about is backup quarterback Beau Pribula, a redshirt sophomore who completed 11-of-13 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown while adding 28 rushing yards in relief of Allar.
When Pribula entered the game, Penn State was down 10-7. He appeared in 11 games last season and notched 329 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, so he does give the Nittany Lions something to work with if Allar isn’t able to go against OSU.
“Bo is a character, character, kid, character family. Comes from a great high school program. He’s universally respected in our locker room, from his teammates and coaches. Not surprised one bit that he was able to manufacture yards and points for us when we needed them most,” Franklin said.
And as far as Allar is concerned, though he will likely be a game-time decision, that doesn’t mean he isn’t going through it physically right now. Franklin said the decision to pull Allar against Wisconsin wasn’t precautionary.
“I asked him to be very, very honest with me, and he just didn’t feel like he was going to be able to move well enough to go. And even after the end of the half there, throwing was challenging,” the head coach said.
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