The Penn State Nittany Lions narrowly escaped the Bowling Green Falcons this past week, in part because of their quarterback play.
The Nittany Lions did some things right against the Falcons but also made quite a few mistakes that kept the game close. Penn State has another MAC opponent this weekend in the Kent State Golden Flashes, who are quite frankly just not a good team this season. The Nittany Lions and quarterback Drew Allar will have to improve before facing Illinois in two weeks, who are fresh off of upsetting the Kansas Jayhawks.
Penn State Nittany Lions Must Improve Upon Mistakes Before Facing Illinois Fighting Illini
The Penn State football team has begun the 2024 season with a 2-0 record after defeating the Bowling Green Falcons this past weekend. The Nittany Lions won the game, 34-27, and were losing the game by two scores at one point against a MAC school. While the MAC has shown they are no longer complete cakewalks, the Nittany Lions also should have been able to produce more against the Falcons.
Quarterback Drew Allar had a solid game but made some mistakes against the Falcons defense as well. The biggest mistake was the double-coverage interception Allar threw trying to force a touchdown pass in the red zone. The Nittany Lions were up by three points at the time and it was a costly interception as Penn State did not need a touchdown on first-and-ten.
The defense should also be held accountable as they struggled with tackling against the Falcons. The Falcons’ offense broke multiple tackling, resulting in conversions and long drives on the Nittany Lions’ defense. The Penn State football team will have to fix these small issues surrounding the team before facing another tough test in the Illinois Fighting Illini.
What Does Drew Allar, Penn State Football Need to Do to Correct Themselves?
While the problem does not solely fall on the shoulders of Allar, the quarterback can also make plenty more happen for the offense while using his full arsenal. Allar is not the most athletic or quick runner but has the ability to carry the ball for fast first downs here and there. The area Allar should be using his legs more in is the red-zone as the quarterback ran a beautiful read option against the Falcons for a score.
When Allar is in situations like that, he excels using his legs and looks excellent while doing so, given his offensive line provides the necessary blocks. The offensive line has also been an issue for the Penn State football team as the Nittany Lions have allowed two sacks and plenty of quarterback hits. Allar is often not looking deep downfield like the quarterback wants to because there is not enough time to do so.
In particular, against the Falcons, the offensive line struggled during key times and the Nittany Lions offense in turn had to settle for field goals and punts. The offensive line will have to play better moving forward, especially since the unit had a promising performance against West Virginia in week one. Illinois is going to deploy 6-foot-5-inch, 265-pound linebacker Joe Barna who has the strength to power through a weak defensive line.
The Fighting Illini do not bring insane pressure against the offensive line but certainly have playmakers that can make a difference. In particular, the Fighting Illini like to use defensive backs in their blitzing schemes, with Xavier Scott being their primary blitzer in those situations. Scott already has recorded a sack, a forced fumble, and two interceptions this season in two games.
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