Penn State Football shook off its first loss of the season to Ohio State in an emphatic way Saturday night, throttling Washington 35-6 to get back on the winning side of things.
The Nittany Lions absolutely dominated the Huskies in the first half, jumping out to a 28-0 lead, before running out the clock in the second half for an easy win. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar led the charge for the Nittany Lions’ balanced offense which looked as good as it has all year.
Here is how Drew Allar’s night went for Penn State State Football.
Drew Allar played one of his best games as a Nittany Lion Saturday night in Penn State’s annual whiteout against Washington.
Allar finished the game 20 for 28 passing for 220 yards and a touchdown and added 12 yards on the ground on three rushing attempts. Allar was efficient and effective under center all night, showing textbook accuracy throwing the ball down the field.
Allar and the Penn State offense were extremely efficient in the first half of Penn State’s game Saturday night, especially on third down where the Nittany Lions were a perfect eight for eight in the half. Allar and the offense took Penn State’s first four possessions down the field for touchdowns on touchdown drives of 72, 80, 58, and 68 yards respectively.
At the half, Allar had completed 14-of-18 attempts for 140 yards and a touchdown. Allar’s touchdown pass came on Penn State’s fourth drive of the first half, a strike to Julian Fleming for Fleming’s first touchdown as a Nittany Lion. The touchdown pass also moved Allar to fifth all-time among Penn State quarterbacks with 42 career passing touchdowns, passing Todd Blackledge, Tony Sacca, and Zack Mills.
In the second half, Allar completed six of ten passes for 80 yards as Penn State relied on its ground game to run out the clock against Washington.
Most impressively for Allar in the game was his ability to evade the Washington pass rush.
While Penn State’s offensive line played very well against the Huskies, in the times when Washington was able to get into the backfield to pressure Allar, Allar was able to step up, evade the rush and make something of the play or throw the ball away. Washington finished the game with zero sacks or tackles for a loss.
Also importantly for Penn State, Allar was able to spread the ball around more to the Nittany Lions’ wide receivers in the contest than he was last week against Ohio State. In the game, Allar was able to complete passes to three different wide receivers with eight completions to the position group (Penn State had only three total completions to two wide receivers last Saturday against Ohio State).
Overall, Allar played one of his best games as a Nittany Lion.
Grading Drew Allar vs. Washington
Allar was efficient and effective with the football, was accurate when throwing downfield, did not force the ball downfield or turn the ball over, and was extremely mobile to avoid any negative plays on the day.
I will give Allar an A for his work against Washington.
If Allar is able to continue this level of play through the rest of the season, Penn State should find themselves in the college football playoff with the chance to make a run through the 12-team bracket. Allar may also be hearing his name called early in April when the 2025 NFL draft rolls around. Tape from his game against Washington on Saturday will surely make the highlight reel on draft night.
Grade: A
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