Penn State’s offense shows its big-play potential with long touchdown pass

Chalk up Penn State’s 33-24 win over Indiana on Saturday as another chapter in the development of sophomore quarterback Drew Allar.

Allar threw his first career interception, an ill-advised pass lofted over the middle of the field with no receivers in the area, setting up Indiana for a game-tying field goal. Then he won the game with his arm.

Allar connected with KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 57-yard, go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. He passed for three touchdowns and completed passes of 16-plus yards to four receivers, an important note in his development.

“There is a lot more to being the quarterback at a place like Penn State than just running the offense and managing the games,” coach James Franklin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “I’m pleased with how it’s going, but there is obviously a lot of room for growth there, not just specifically with him but the pieces around him as well.”

Explosive plays have been in short supply for No. 9 Penn State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten), especially in the running game. Star halfback Nicholas Singleton completed his first 20-yard run of the season against Ohio State and followed it up with just 3.3 yards per carry against Indiana.

There are plenty of factors involved, Franklin said, from wide receivers’ consistency to offensive line play to better performance on first and second down, although he’s “not in the business of midseason or three-quarters of the season getting into evaluations of the staff.”

Saturday marked an improvement for Penn State’s offense as it prepares for the final stretch of its schedule.

“When you’re able to complete a ball like we did with KeAndre, the more times you can put that on tape, that affects the defense very similar to a mobile quarterback,” Franklin said. “It gives them things that they fear, that the defense fears.”

Penn State’s last two games haven’t exactly been ideal. A loss at Ohio State followed by a narrow home win against bottom-feeding Indiana would seem to cause concerns about this team’s potential.

It could be a good thing, though, as Franklin pointed toward something that defensive tackle Dvon Ellies said recently: The best teams are honest teams.

”There’s a lot of ways to get better throughout a season, and sometimes it takes an ugly game. Sometimes it takes a setback,” Franklin said. “You hope it doesn’t, and you wish it doesn’t and you do everything you possibly can to learn after wins and not have to go through those setbacks or those challenges. But sometimes it’s needed.”

» READ MORE: Deion Barnes is thriving as Penn State’s defensive line coach. So is the Lions’ defense.

Having honest conversations was a theme for Franklin on Tuesday. More of that came on the defensive side of the ball after the Lions allowed touchdown passes of 90 and 69 yards to the Hoosiers as well as nearly 5 yards per carry to Indiana running back Josh Henderson.

“[Coordinator] Manny [Diaz] was very honest and transparent with the defense on areas that we’ve got to get better,” Franklin said. “We’ve obviously played better. I don’t think there is any doubt about that. So we worked on those things on Sunday. We made the corrections that needed to be made. I think we’ll be better for it.”

Franklin offered no updates about No. 2 wide receiver Harrison “Tre” Wallace III, indicating that the injury he suffered against Indiana is not expected to be season-ending. Wallace fell hard while attempting to make a diving catch, left for the locker room, and returned with a sling on his right arm.

Florida State transfer Malik McClain took the majority of reps in Wallace’s absence. Kent State transfer Dante Cephas was again a factor, although the rotation was minimal beyond that pairing.

The Nittany Lions have been searching for more consistency at receiver all season and will continue to do so on Saturday at Maryland (5-3, 2-3), with heightened urgency.

“There has been a bunch of conversation really since training camp about wanting somebody else to step up into that third role, which right now would be the second role, and has been for a good part of the season,” Franklin said. “We have guys that have done some really good things. It comes down to consistency.”

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