'Extremely poised' Allar's debut leads Nittany Lions past West Virginia

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- It didn't take long for Drew Allar to light up the highlight reel during his first college start.

This was the highly touted, super sophomore quarterback's second pass of the game. Notice how he steps up into the pocket, a la vintage Trace McSorley, and fires one on target to KeAndre Lambert Smith, who broke a tackle and scored a 72-yard touchdown.

That electrifying play got Penn State out to a fast start in the season opener against West Virginia. The rest of the first half was sluggish, and the defense didn't quite play up to expectations.

But Allar sure did. And then some. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Nittany Lions to a 38-15 win over the Mountaineers. A crowd of 110,747 was on hand, the fourth-largest in Beaver Stadium history.

"I didn't have any nerves," Allar said afterward. "I don't really get nervous to play games. I get more anxious."

We can break this game down a whole bunch of ways. Penn State did a lot of good things, but at times didn't look like the No. 7 team in the country. Still, the result was a 23-point win, and a late cover of the Vegas line of -20.5, thanks to James Franklin keeping his foot on the gas and letting backup quarterback Beau Pribula score with 6 seconds left instead of taking a knee.

There appear to be big problems with the kicking game, which missed two field goals. And the defense had some unexpected issues, although the starters did hold West Virginia to one touchdown (the other was scored against backups).

"A lot to build on, a lot to correct," Franklin said. "I thought we were inconsistent really in all three phases. We gotta get those things cleaned up."

At the end of the day, nobody outside the coaches will really remember that stuff.

This was Allar's starting debut, and that's what will be remembered.

"That's the Drew we saw in preseason camp," Franklin said.

"He did a really good job of managing the game from a decision-making standpoint," the coach added. "He's extremely poised."

At no point did Allar look like a first-time starter. Sure, he made a couple of questionable throws -- one tip early that was nearly picked off, then another to the end zone later that should have been intercepted -- but the final stat line is still one of the best ever for a Penn State QB in his starting debut.

"He's mobile for a big guy and does a great job of climbing the pocket and keeping his eyes up," Franklin said.

It's that part that gives Allar a chance to be really special. He not only has tremendous physical skills, his feel for the game and the position are really impressive. Most notably his ability to extend plays, which he did several times Saturday.

Besides the long TD toss above, he also had a couple of impressive plays where he rolled to his right and threw back to his left for nice gains.

Allar's explanation of why those plays work was interesting.

"We always talk about our scramble rules," Allar said. "When a quarterback escapes the pocket, the backside routes or whoever's running away from the quarterback needs to come back downfield if they can, because we're always looking to the sideline for the easiest completion right away. And then the guys in the backside of the progression just continue to work into our vision because they know my mentality when I escape the pocket. I'm looking to throw downfield just because that's when the bigger plays happen when you extend the plays because coverage usually can't hold up that long."

Hey, that all sounds simple enough, right?

When a sophomore, first-time starter understands all of that stuff -- on top of everything else he's got to know -- it's easy to see why he has so much potential.

"It's really rewarding," Allar said of his first win as a starter. "I mean, as a quarterback, the only stat I really care about are the wins at the end of the day. To beat a team like West Virginia in a great environment is definitely really cool, especially being my first start."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• OK, so about the defense.

The Lions gave up 310 yards, including 148 rushing. Some of that was late against backup defenders, but West Virginia also put together some good offensive stretches against the starters. The Mountaineers had 63 yards rushing in the first quarter.

All of this is relative, mind you, because the Lions' defense did have control of the game for the most part. And keep in mind, West Virginia has a really good offensive line.

However, this Penn State defense expects to be great, particularly the line. That's why end Chop Robinson wasn't real pleased with the performance in the opener.

"We didn't play to our standard as a D-line," Robinson said. "We want to be the greatest D-lines in the country. So we've got to live up to those things. We've got to make more plays and just be great.

"But I think this is a learning experience for us. It was the first game of the season, so learn from our mistakes and just keep building on throughout the season."

Robinson was asked a couple different times to name specific mistakes, and he didn't really offer up any.

There were times, though, when the D-line seemed to be getting pushed around a bit by the Mountaineers. It wasn't all night, and the Lions came up with plenty of stops, too, but again, the expectation was that the unit would play a lot better than it did.

In other words, if Penn State's defensive line plays like that against Michigan later on, it just won't be good enough.

"I would say we have to do a lot better," linebacker Kobe King said. "There were a lot of good things we've seen from guys today, but there's a lot we can improve on. But you know, we got the win, that's what we need."

• There's been a lot of talk about Penn State needing a No. 1 wide receiver, which I wrote about here. Well, Lambert-Smith certainly looked the part as he caught two TD passes and finished with four grabs for 123 yards. Remember, he also had an 88-yard TD reception in the Rose Bowl, so that gives him two very long scoring grabs in his last two games.

"I am not surprised that we are clicking more," Lambert-Smith said of his rapport with Allar. "He had a lot of great plays, and that's what he showed last year, so I am not surprised. And that is just scratching the surface. I cannot wait to see how we continue to play."

• Curtis Jacobs led the defense with 10 tackles, including one sack. Surprisingly, linebacker Abdul Carter had just one tackle, although that was a sack. Freshman linebacker Tony Rojas had two tackles in his debut.

"We're resilient," Jacobs said of the team. "Obviously, they came down and punched us in the mouth early with that touchdown. And to see the offense come right back out and strike to score, it gives you confidence just being able to play complimentary football like that."

• Harrison Wallace III led Penn State with seven catches, going for 72 yards. Franklin reiterated that there's been a clear separation at receiver between KLS and Wallace, then everyone else.

• However, Malik McClain wound up having a strong game in his Penn State debut. The Florida State transfer caught four passes for 58 yards and one touchdown.

• Nicholas Singleton led the Lions with 70 yards rushing on 13 carries, plus one TD. Kaytron Allen had 51 yards on 10 carries.

• The offensive line is supposed to be a major strength. While it did well for the most part, there were some lapses when WVU defenders got good pressure inside. JB Nelson started at left guard, as expected, after the medical retirement of Landon Tengwall. Like with other parts of the team, the line has to look at the ups and downs and use this as a learning experience on where to improve.

Right guard Sal Wormley was impressed with Allar, like everyone else.

"He was really poised," Wormley said of the QB. "He did exactly what we all thought he was going to do. We see him in practice. We just had a month of camp with him, and the guy didn't throw a (pick) until three weeks into camp. We all know what Drew can do."

• See the Penn State feed for more on the kicking problems, plus West Virginia coach Neal Brown's thoughts on the Lions' last-second touchdown.

• Here's a look at the final stats.

PERSONNEL REPORT

For starters: Several starting jobs were up for grabs. Here's a look at who won jobs:

Third WR: Liam Clifford
LG: JB Nelson
S: Kevin Winston Jr.
PK: Sander Sahaydak
PR: Kaden Saunders

WR Omari Evans was listed as questionable and did not play.

Drew Shelton got some time at left tackle in the fourth quarter, taking over for Olu Fashanu.

Sean Clifford was pumped to have his little brother get a starting nod.

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Penn State hosts Delaware next Saturday at noon.

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