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Penn State's Drew Allar Injured Late in Season-Crashing Loss to Northwestern

The quarterback was carted to the locker room in the fourth quarter as Penn State lost its third straight Big Ten game.
Mark Wogenrich|
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin stands on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin stands on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

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STATE COLLEGE | Penn State quarterback Drew Allar will miss the remainder of the season after being injured late in the Nittany Lions' 22-21 loss to Northwestern, which not only ended Penn State's playoff chances but also put the remainder of the team's season in doubt.

Penn State coach James Franklin confirmed after the game that Allar will miss the remainder of his final season with the Nittany Lions. He sustained a lower-leg injury on a third-down scramble with about 3 minutes left to play in the game. When asked about Allar after the game, Franklin looked toward a team official in the media room before announcing the news.

"Drew will be done for the year," Franklin said. "I do not release that information until I clear it with the kid and the family."

Allar was on the ground for several minutes, got up and walked briefly under his own power before trainers helped him back to the sideline. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer replaced Allar for a 4th-and-3 play, on which he was stopped for no gain on a scramble. Allar was carted to the locker room in the final minutes.

"My heart goes out to Drew," Penn State offensive lineman T.J. Shanahan Jr. said after the game. "I know how hard he’s worked since I got here in January. Since I transferred here from Texas A&M, he’s been one of the leaders who really stuck out, so it sucks and it hurts my heart for him to be out. We’re losing a big leader up front, but I know he’s still going to be there and be a vocal leader."

Penn State (3-3) is 0-3 in the Big Ten for the first time since 2004 (the 2020 season notwithstanding) and has lost three straight games for the first time since 2021. Pregame boos of Penn State coach James Franklin withered into the postgame at an emptying Beaver Stadium.

The breakdown of Penn State's third consecutive breakdown.

A defense lost on the field

Allar scored on a sneak with 10:50 remaining to give Penn State a 21-16 lead, leaving the defense to hold the edge. It could not. Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone led an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, which Caleb Komolafe capped with a 9-yard touchdown run.

Northwestern's offensive line bruised Penn State's front on the drive, as the Wildcats were forced to convert just one third down. Stone did so with a 16-yard completion to Griffin Wilde, who scored on a touchdown pass in the first half.

The Wildcats outgained Penn State by just 10 yards, 284-274, and threw for 163. Penn State split its offense with 137 yards rushing and passing.

The offensive play that should have mattered

Devonte Ross needed that moment as much as Penn State. After fumbling a punt, which Northwestern turned into a field goal, Ross made the game's biggest play. And perhaps Penn State's most vital offensive play of the season.

Allar his Ross in stride on crossing route 3rd-and-5, and the receiver got behind Northwestern's secondary for a 67-yard reception. The play tied for Penn State's longest of the season ans set up a sneak touchdown by Allar.

Another blocked punt, another mistake

Dani Dennis-Sutton exploited seams in special-teams line play on consecutive punt attempts, blocking a first-quarter Northwestern punt attempt. He did the same against UCLA on the Bruins' only punt attempt of the game.

Penn State capitalized against the Bruins, with Liam Clifford recovering the punt for a touchdown. But this time, Allar threw an ill-advised pass to Clifford in the end zone, easily picked by Northwestern's Ore Adeyi. Allar apparently tried to go back shoulder, but Adeyi fronted Clifford on the route, and the receiver didn't adjust.

A penal first half

Penn State played an uncharacteristically undisciplined first half, committing six penalties for 71 yards. Northwestern capitalized on several of those penalties, particularly on its final drive of the half. And Penn State committed four of those penalties on second-and-long, giving Northwestern four first downs.

The Wildcats stretched the series on a second-and-long facemask and and second-and-10 roughing-the-passer penalty. Instead of getting off the field with about one minute to score before halftime, the Nittany Lions instead gave up a 34-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining.

Moreover, Penn State was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on a kickoff return, backing up the offense 11 yards. The Nittany Lions scored a touchdown on the series, but the penalty lengethened the drive. Meanwhile, Northwestern was not flagged in the first half.

Up next

Penn State returns to the road to face Iowa on Oct. 18 at Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Peacock.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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