PSU GAMEDAY: All eyes on Allar headed into showdown against Ohio State

Drew Allar was at practice as usual on Wednesday, free of the bulky brace he hobbled out of the tunnel wearing after halftime last Saturday at Wisconsin.

A positive sign for the quarterback and Penn State, to be sure. But it was for just a short window — 10 minutes — that media are permitted to observe for the week.

Not quite the same as being asked to deliver in the biggest game in the country this week against a defensive line stacked with future NFLers.

Allar’s left leg has provided an extra wrinkle to Saturday’s showdown between No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Ohio State.

After getting twisted around on a tackle late in the first half against the Badgers, Allar had trouble on his next two passes — both incompletions — as he took an early exit to the locker room. Beau Pribula stepped in for the entire second half to rally the Nittany Lions from a 10-7 deficit to a 28-13 win in Madison.

As it is, Allar is expected to start as usual, but Pribula could see more snaps than he usually does. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has the option to put Pribula or even tight end Tyler Warren behind center to lighten the load on Allar as needed.

Coach James Franklin has called Allar a game-time decision, but the biggest indicator that the NFL hopeful will be able to play is that he was getting work in practice instead of third-stringer Ethan Grunkemeyer this week.

“Here’s the deal,” Franklin said Wednesday after Allar was seen going through drills. “If Drew was unable to practice, then Grunk’s getting reps. But if you try to get three quarterbacks ready, you get zero quarterbacks ready. So you guys saw Drew was able to take reps today. So the reps have gone between Drew and Beau.”

Franklin said he asked Allar to be honest with him during halftime at Wisconsin and the quarterback told him he didn’t he’d be able to fully run the offense with his mobility compromised.

With that extra time to recuperate, the Ohio native gave himself the best shot at being able to face the Buckeyes for what could be the last time with a decision on the NFL looming soon.

“The trainers will decide if you’re available or not, and then after that, it’s up to the players,” Franklin said. “And some of that is maturity. Some young players haven’t played through some bumps and bruises before and others have.

“Some guys, that comes naturally to them right away, the ability to do that. And others have to kind of experience it and figure it out and what they’re able to do and what they’re not. That’s a process, and it’s different for each one of them. But it starts with our medical professionals.”

THREE AND OUT

Infirmary report

That experience with injuries will play out on both sides and extend far beyond Allar’s status.

For the Lions, that means two more future NFLers may be limited or unable to play at all. Like Allar, both defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton and right tackle Anthony Donkoh were injured in the second quarter at Wisconsin.

Dennis-Sutton, who appeared to be trying to stretch out a lower-body injury, attempted to return for one play in the third quarter before pulling out. Donkoh, who also looked hobbled, did not return.

During the portion of practice available to media, Dennis-Sutton was not with the team. Donkoh was present but limited.

Franklin said more leeway would be given to a veteran like Dennis-Sutton to play as opposed to a redshirt freshman like Donkoh. Nolan Rucci replaced Donkoh when he suffered separate injuries against UCLA and Wisconsin and would be in line for this first start for the Lions if needed.

Ohio State hasn’t escaped the injury bug, either.

The biggest issue for the Buckeyes is at left tackle, where starter Josh Simmons has already been lost for the season.

Last week against Nebraska, the Bucks replaced him with Zen Michalski, who struggled against the Cornhuskers’ front before getting injured himself.

Michalski was taken off the field on a cart and did not return. Ohio State coach Ryan Day initially called Michalski a game-time decision but downgraded him later in the week.

“I would say it’s trending that Zen is not going to play, but we’ll keep evaluating it,” Day said. “I think we’ve got a pretty good plan moving forward.”

With two of the team’s top three tackles on the shelf, that plan likely means left guard Donovan Jackson will shift over and see plenty of Penn State’s top edge rusher, Abdul Carter.

Austin Siereveld could draw in at left guard, where he started the first two weeks of the season when Jackson was unavailable.

The Buckeyes are expected to get starting safety Lathan Ransom back on the field after missing the Nebraska game.

“We’re excited to get a full week of practice out of Lathan,” Day said.

Howard’s homecoming

Before Allar got hurt on Saturday night, it looked like most of the quarterback headlines this week would belong to Ohio State starter Will Howard.

After rallying the Buckeyes back from a brief fourth-quarter deficit against the Huskers, Howard expressed his enthusiasm for getting to face the Lions for the first time.

”Stoked. Stoked. I cannot wait,” Howard told reporters in Columbus. “It’s going to be a homecoming for me. I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life. They didn’t think I was good enough — but I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”

The Chester County native played at Downingtown West High School but didn’t land a scholarship offer from the Lions.

Howard ended up landing at Kansas State, where he spent four years before transferring to Ohio State last winter when the Buckeyes moved on from another Philadelphia-area quarterback in Kyle McCord.

In seven games with Ohio State, Howard is 134-of-181 for 1,795 yards and 17 touchdowns against four interceptions. He also has been an effective option running on goal-to-go situations, scoring five more times on the ground.

Howard has certainly been the better quarterback than the recruit the Lions did sign in that 2020 class. Las Vegas native Micah Bowens spent one year in Happy Valley before transferring to Oklahoma, then to Charlotte. This season he is a backup at FCS Bethune-Cookman.

“(Howard) is a big guy and playing really good football for them,” Franklin said. “Touchdown-to-interception ratio, QBR — all those things — doing some really good things. Obviously a young man from Pennsylvania, so he’ll have a bunch of support here from his family and friends.”

Pomp and circumstance

Penn State hasn’t exactly been thrilled that TV networks have dictated that home games against Ohio State have been in the noon window the last two times rather than at night for the annual White-Out.

But that doesn’t mean that this won’t have a big game feel to it. Both FOX, which has the broadcast, and ESPN have already set up in town, building stages for their traveling pregame shows.

FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff” and ESPN’s “College GameDay” have both taken up residence on opposite corners of the Bryce Jordan Center across the street from Beaver Stadium.

A pregame flyover is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. And while pregame traffic will certainly be congested, it won’t be as nightmarish as it could have been.

The university had been preparing for a potential Beaver Stadium visit from former President Donald Trump with three days to go before Election Day, but it was reported on Wednesday by the Centre Daily Times that the candidate will not be coming after all. That also means there will not be increased security measures that would have slowed fans from getting into the stadium.

Franklin gave a deadpan delivery on Wednesday how much he loves noon games before shifting gears on Thursday to talk to fans on his weekly radio show.

“One of the things I think is really important, that I would challenge all of us Penn Staters, is let’s stop talking about this game being at 12 o’clock. That ship has sailed,” Franklin said. “The game is at 12 o’clock, and we gotta embrace it, and we gotta make it the best environment, the most challenging environment that college football has ever seen.”