Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
2 6 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M from doomscrolling fans. But football is a complicated game, and there are num- bers within numbers. Embedded in PSU's season stats were a couple of unsightly performances in the games that attracted the most national attention. In addition to the Ohio State game, the Lions faltered against Michigan. A l l a r wa s u n d e r heavy duress and finished with just 10 completions on 23 attempts for 70 yards and a touch- down in a 24-15 loss. The disparity between Penn State's performances against its two primary East Division rivals and its showings against the other 10 teams on its sched- ule was glaring. The Lions averaged 13.5 points and 239 yards against Ohio State and Michigan, while averaging 41.9 points and 421.4 yards against everyone else. For Yurcich, even those numbers might have been survivable taken in isolation. But the Lions had never beaten the Buckeyes or Wolverines during his three seasons in charge of the offense, and faced with an intolerable status quo, Franklin dismissed him on Nov. 12. "We need to play well, and we need to play well against our toughest oppo- nents," the 10th-year PSU coach said. "That's the reality of it." 'I've Been Committed Here' If the biggest question following Yur- cich's exit revolved around his eventual full-time replacement, the second-big- gest question was whether Allar would want to be part of whatever was coming next for the Nittany Lion offense. Yurcich had taken the lead in Allar's recruitment, prioritizing him back when he was still a three-star prospect not well known beyond his corner of north central Ohio. Allar later developed into a five-star player and the No. 2 quarter- back in the 2022 class according to On3. Everyone was after him by the end of the recruiting cycle, but he stayed loyal to Penn State, signing with the Lions in December 2021 and going on to serve a one-year apprenticeship as Sean Clif- ford's backup before ascending to the starting position this past fall. Would Allar still want that job now that the coach who had brought him to Penn State was gone? At the very least, it seemed possible that he might have a tough decision to make. The same schools that had wanted his signature on a letter of intent would surely be back in touch the instant his name appeared in the transfer portal. He would have op- tions. Did he want to explore them? He did not. "I've been committed here," Allar said following the Michigan State game. "Coach Franklin is a huge influence in my life, not only on the field, but person- ally. I've definitely grown a lot since I've stepped on campus, so I have no thoughts of anything like that." That Allar was ea- ger to stay the course came as no surprise to any of his team- mates. They'd seen that sense of deter- mination from him all along, through good times and especially through bad. "He takes ownership of things," super senior center Hunter Nourzad said. "He takes ownership of more things than he probably should, to be honest. I think Allar told reporters in November that he was still firmly committed to staying at Penn State even with offensive coordi- nator Mike Yurcich having been dismissed. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL "He takes ownership of things. He takes ownership of more things than he probably should, to be honest. I think that's a really mature attribute that he holds." C E N T E R H U N T E R N O U R Z A D O N A L L A R