Michael Cohen

College football and college basketball writer

Footage just after halftime of Penn State's game against Wisconsin last Saturday night showed quarterback Drew Allar throwing a pass and then shaking his head. Allar, who left in the second quarter, returned from the locker room with a brace on his left knee but never seemed comfortable during the accelerated warm-up before the second half kicked off. He threw a pass, turned to a member of the Nittany Lions coaching staff and shook his head in frustration. No matter how many times Allar flexed his knee on the sideline, desperately trying to straighten out the twist, the discomfort didn't go away.

With Allar unable to play, the offense was entrusted to backup quarterback Beau Pribula, a redshirt sophomore who is in the most tense environment of his career. Not only had Pribula never played more than 22 snaps in a game against a power conference opponent – and he had not played more than eight snaps against Big Ten opponents this season – but the Nittany Lions were in a difficult game with a score of 10-7 on the road at Camp Randall Stadium. They couldn't afford a loss to an unranked opponent in the week leading up to their game against No. 4 Ohio State, in a game that will likely have significant implications for the College Football Playoff.

Pribula delivered, completing 11 of 13 passes for 98 yards and a score and leading Penn State to two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. That became the central storyline of a comeback victory that extended the Nittany Lions' unblemished record to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten ahead of Saturday's highly anticipated visit from the Buckeyes (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). . And with Allar's status for the weekend still uncertain after head coach James Franklin called it a game-time decision in his two regular media appearances, there's a chance Pribula will take on the role of protagonist in Penn State's biggest game of the season.

It would be Pribula's first start since his senior year at York Central York High School in York, Pennsylvania, and he would attempt to replace former Michigan State quarterback Tyler O'Connor as the last signal-caller who defeated Ohio State in his first career start start, a brand that has existed since 2015.

“He’s smart and he’s mature and he’s extremely competitive,” Franklin said of Pribula earlier this week. “He attacks in every area: in the weight room, in the classroom, on the field. His teammates love him. He simply did everything right. I think probably what everyone is talking about is his ability to make plays. “I don't think there's anyone in our program that doesn't also believe he can do it with his arm as well.

4

Ohio State Buckeyes

OSU

-3.5

-166

Oh 45.5

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Penn State Nittany Lions

Power supply

+3.5

+138

U 45.5

Pribula is a three-star recruit and the No. 29 quarterback in the 2022 recruiting cycle. He comes from a family of football players. His brother was a quarterback at Delaware and Sacred Heart. His father played at Shippensburg University. His uncle was a quarterback at USC. His grandfather was an All-American at West Chester. Pribula himself became the first player in Central York history to be a three-year captain and led the Panthers to consecutive undefeated regular seasons as a junior and senior, earning Pennsylvania Player of the Year honors both times. As a senior, he threw for 2,676 yards and 33 touchdowns while also rushing for 420 yards and nine additional scores. Rivals rated him as the sixth-best dual-threat quarterback in the country behind Connor Weigman (Texas A&M), Gunner Stockton (Georgia), MJ Morris (North Carolina State), Nick Evers (Oklahoma) and Jacurri Brown (Miami, Florida). .).

After redshirting as a true freshman in 2022, Pribula was given the backup job last season, in Allar's first year at the top of the depth chart. Under former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, who was ultimately fired last November, he carved out the role of the more mobile, change-of-pace player who could execute designed quarterback runs and read-option plays.

Pribula averaged 12 snaps per game in 11 appearances last season and ran the ball more than 39% of the time. He finished the year with 329 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 56 attempts (5.9 yards per carry). When he did throw – which never happened more than four times in a game against Big Ten opponents – Pribula completed 11 of 21 passes (52.4%) for 149 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, although most of the air production was in mop- on duty when the results of certain competitions have already been determined.

He has taken on a similar role in 2024 under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, formerly of Kansas, who prior to Saturday's win over Wisconsin had allowed Pribula nine snaps per game against power-conference opponents, some of whom had two quarterbacks on at the same time had the field. Pribula has completed 18 of 23 passes (78.3%) for 200 yards, three touchdowns and one interception this season, with 133 rushing yards and an additional score on the ground.

“I think when you're preparing for Drew and (opposing defenses know that) Beau is going to have his few plays per quarter that we throw in there, it's difficult,” Franklin said. “If the game plan turns around, right, and Beau is there (after Allar got injured), I think it changes dramatically for the defense. This is difficult. Most people aren’t built like that, are they?” Their quarterbacks are all the same type. Ours are very different in many ways.

Ohio State vs. Penn State: Which coach will get this win?

Differences include both physical and stylistic contrasts between Allar and Pribula, with the former standing at a portly 6-foot-5,235 pounds, while the latter is noticeably smaller and slimmer at 6-2,206 pounds – a divide made even more apparent by Pribula's superior agility . Franklin said there have been times in the past when Penn State's offensive coordinators have called plays for Pribula as if Allar was still in the game, a paradox that he said improved Pribula's pocket presence and passing ability. But against the Badgers last weekend, when the coaching staff knew Allar wouldn't return to the lineup, Franklin directed Kotelnicki to adapt the remaining playcalls to Pribula's strengths rather than stick to the original game plan, which was based on a different type of quarterback based.

Still, the 13 passes Pribula attempted surpassed his previous career high of nine and offered a better look at the Nittany Lions' offense this weekend if Allar is unable to play. According to Pro Football Focus, only three of Pribula's throws went more than 10 yards downfield against a talented Wisconsin secondary, which felt like a significant departure from Penn State's upward trend in vertical shooting while Kotelnicki ran the offense.

Allar, meanwhile, had completed seven of his 18 passes of more than 10 yards in less than two quarters of play, completing four of them for 57 yards and a touchdown. Pribula was 1-for-3 on similar vertical throws over 40 yards, although he was far more willing than Allar to fire short and intermediate passes into traffic, at least two of which could have been intercepted.

How much Penn State's passing attack might change if the coaching staff has a full week to develop the game plan around Pribula remains unclear, and Franklin said a decision on Allar's participation likely won't come until kickoff at Beaver Stadium on Met Saturday afternoon. That leaves Ohio State with the unenviable challenge of preparing for two completely different quarterbacks.

“We're going to prepare to have both guys healthy and ready to play,” Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day said earlier this week. “They both bring different things to the table. They are both very effective at what they do. We assume what we have seen and what is in the film. But yes, we need to know who is in the game.” “

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports, with a focus on the Big Ten. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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