Penn State quarterback Drew Allar and tight end Tyler Warren enjoyed career games the last time they stepped foot on a football field.
The junior gunslinger Allar went 30-for-43 passing with 391 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in Penn State’s 33-30 overtime victory over USC two weeks ago. His completions, attempts, yards and interceptions were all career highs.
Having three turnovers does not sound like a career game, but it was Allar’s response to the interceptions that stood out.
“Keep shooting, no matter what,” Allar said. “Some things aren’t going to go your way, but it’s just how you bounce back for them, and I think, as an overall offense, we did a great job of bouncing back in the second half.”
Through 30 minutes in Los Angeles, the Blue and White found themselves trailing 20-6, and their former five-star quarterback was 12-for-18 with 124 yards and an interception.
It was a scene all too familiar to Penn State fans. James Franklin’s team, yet again, looked unprepared in a big game, Allar and the offense were stifled, and another 10-2 season outside the College Football Playoff bubble was in sight. Nothing changed. These were the same old Nittany Lions.
Then suddenly, everything changed.
On the first drive of the second half, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki dialed up a double pass to Warren. Warren snapped the ball to backup quarterback Beau Pribula, who swung a pass to the sideline for Allar, and he unleashed it to Warren in the end zone to cut the deficit to 20-13.
“We were positive, and it wasn’t negative in the locker room,” Warren said. “We knew how critical that drive was … To be able to set the tone like that lifted up the whole team.”
Warren finished with a record-breaking 17 receptions for 224 yards and a touchdown. His 17 catches tied an FBS record and broke a Penn State record for most receptions in a game. His 224 yards broke the Big Ten record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a game.
Penn State tied the game on its next possession with a touchdown by Kaytron Allen. The Trojans stole back the lead and with 5:56 remaining in the game, the Nittany Lions needed a touchdown to stay alive. Allar and the offense did just that.
Allar and Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming connected on two fourth-down conversions to keep the game alive, and Allar found Nicholas Singleton out of the backfield for the game-tying touchdown.
“The touchdown to Singleton was a play earlier in the game that he had thrown an interception on,” Kotelnicki said. “So, for him to come back and us to go back to him, I think, shows our belief in him and being able to go through and grow and develop and execute when it was dialed up again at the end of the game.”
Safety Jaylen Reed picked off USC quarterback Miller Moss with less than a minute left in regulation to force overtime. The Trojans missed the go-ahead field goal in the extra frame, and former walk-on kicker Ryan Barker hit the game-winner for the overtime victory.
It has been nearly two weeks since that thrilling finish at the Coliseum, and Penn State has spent the bye week preparing for another road challenge: the Wisconsin Badgers.
It has been an up-and-down season for Wisconsin. After a 2-0 start, the Badgers lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season-ending knee injury in their 42-10 blowout loss to Alabama. A week later, Braedyn Locke took over for the Miami transfer and Wisconsin fell to USC 38-21.
Since then, however, Locke and the Badgers have rattled off three straight wins against Big Ten opponents, outscoring all three opponents by a combined 117-16.
“I think the last three weeks, they’ve played their best football,” Franklin said in his press conference Monday. “They’re really coming on right now. Just watching them on tape, how clean they’re playing, how hard they’re playing. It’s impressive to watch.”
Perhaps the most impressive part of the winning streak has been the defense. The Badgers allowed 232 yards per game and forced four turnovers over the three-game winning streak.
On the season, Wisconsin’s defense has the 18th-best scoring defense, allows 295.7 total yards (14th) and 155.9 passing yards per game (seventh).
The seventh-ranked passing defense is led by safety Hunter Wohler, the Badgers’ leading tackler a season ago, and cornerback Ricardo Hallman, the nation’s interception leader in 2023.
“They’re Big Ten defensive backs. They’re good at what they do,” Fleming said. “They’re physical, They’re ball players. So, we’re going to definitely have to be on our P’s and Q’s this weekend.”
The No. 1 threat to the Badgers’ secondary is Warren. The Nittany Lions have used Warren at tight end, wide receiver, quarterback, fullback and center. Of the senior’s six total touchdowns, he has four receiving, one rushing and one passing.
“[Warren] is a super special player, super special teammate, and to have a guy like that on our team that we can depend on no matter what, it’s super good for us,” Allar said. “We know we can rely on him. and obviously he’s one of the best playmakers we have on our team.”
Although Allar and Warren took over against the Trojans, the Badgers’ defense will likely disrupt that connection. However, if Wisconsin’s game plans to stop the pass, Allen and Singleton could be primed for big performances against the Badgers’ 62nd-ranked run defense.
Penn State’s offensive identity has been fluid this season, as Franklin has built the offensive game plan around how the opposing defense decides to play.
USC stopped the run, holding Singleton and Allen to a season-low 82 combined rushing yards, but this presented opportunities for Allar and Warren to take over.
Against No. 19 Illinois almost a month ago, it was the opposite. The Fighting Illini’s stout secondary slowed down Penn State’s passing attack and held Allar to 135 yards and no touchdowns, but Allen and Singleton combined for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
“We’ve got to do whatever we’ve got to do to win, and that will be different each week, and that will look different each week,” Franklin said. “What we’re doing offensively and what the game plan is, is impacted by how the defense decides to game plan.”
Allar and Warren may have made headlines the last time Penn State played, but will Wisconsin’s top-10 secondary disrupt the connection and the Nittany Lions’ undefeated season? No matter what the Badgers’ defense presents, Franklin is confident his offense is prepared for it.
“Most teams are going to go into the game with something they are adamant about, that they’re not going to give up. Whether it’s going to double-team [Warren] or whether it’s going to load the box to stop the run,” Franklin said. “If we go out there to play Wisconsin and they’ve got nine guys in the box, then we’re going to still run the ball because we’re committed to doing that.”
How to watch Penn State vs Wisconsin:
- When: Saturday, October 26
- Where: Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (Pregame coverage begins at 7:00pm ET)
- Watch: NBC, Peacock
About the Author
Mitch Corcoran is a senior at Penn State University and has been on the staff of Onward State, the student blog, since his junior year. With Onward State, Mitch is an associate editor and has covered several varsity sports, including being on the football and men’s volleyball beats since the spring of 2024.
