Penn State quarterback Drew Allar and tight end Tyler Warren enjoyed career games the last time they stepped foot on a football field.

Junior sharpshooter Allar went 30-for-43 passing for 391 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in Penn State’s 33-30 win over USC two weeks ago. His completions, attempts, yards and interceptions were all career highs.

Three turnovers doesn’t sound like a career game, but it was Allar’s reaction 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 the way you bounce back from it. 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 trailed 20-6, and their former five-star quarterback went 12-for-18 with 124 yards and an interception.

It was a scene all too familiar to Penn State fans. James Franklin’s team once 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 everything suddenly changed.

On the first drive of the second half, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki doubled pass to Warren. Warren snapped the ball to backup quarterback Beau Pribula, who swung a pass down the sideline for Allar, and he released 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 crucial that drive was… It gave the whole team a boost to be able to set the tone in this way.”

Warren finished with a career-high 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 Kaytron Allen touchdown. The Trojans stole back the lead and with 5:56 left 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 tying touchdown.

“The touchdown against Singleton was a play earlier in the game where he threw an interception,” Kotelnicki said. “So when he comes back and we go back to him, I think it shows our belief in him and our ability to continue and grow and develop and execute when it came back at the end of the game was started.”

Safety Jaylen Reed picked off USC quarterback Miller Moss with less than a minute left 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’s been almost two weeks since that thrilling finish at the Coliseum, and Penn State has spent the past week preparing for a new road challenge: the Wisconsin Badgers.

It’s 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 loss to Alabama. A week later, Braedyn Locke took over on transfer to Miami and Wisconsin fell to USC 38-21.

Since then, however, Locke and the Badgers have posted three straight wins against Big Ten opponents, outscoring all three opponents by a combined 117-16.

“I think they’ve played their best football the last three weeks,” Franklin said at his news conference on Monday. “They are really getting going now. Just watch them on tape, how clean they play, how loud they play. It is impressive to see.”

Perhaps the most impressive part of the winning streak was the defense. The Badgers allowed 232 yards per game and forced four turnovers during the three-game winning streak.

On the season, Wisconsin’s defense has the 18th best scoring defense, totaling 295.7 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 2023 interception leader.

“They’re the defensive backs of the Big Ten. They are good at what they do,” Fleming said. “They are physical, they are ball players. So we will definitely have to work on our P’s and Q’s this weekend.”

The biggest 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 touchdowns, he has four receiving, one rushing and one passing.

“(Warren) is a super special player, a super special teammate, and to have a guy like that on our team that we can rely on no matter what is super good for us,” Allar said. “We know we can rely on him. and obviously he is one of the best playmakers we have in our team.”

Although Allar and Warren took over the running against the Trojans, the Badgers’ defense will likely disrupt that connection. However, if Wisconsin’s game plan is to stop the pass, Allen and Singleton could be primed for big performances against the Badgers’ 62nd-ranked defense.

Penn State’s offensive identity has been fluid this season, as Franklin has built the offensive game plan around how opposing defenses decide 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 Penn State’s passing attack, holding Allar to 135 yards and no touchdowns, but Allen and Singleton combined for 196 yards and two touchdowns.

“We have to do what we have to do to win, and that’s going to be different every week, and that’s going to look different every week,” Franklin said. “What we do offensively and what the game plan is is influenced by how the defense decides on the game plan.”

Allar and Warren may have made headlines the last time Penn State played, but will Wisconsin’s top-10 secondary disrupt the Nittany Lions’ connection and undefeated season? Whatever the Badgers’ defense, Franklin is confident his offense is prepared for it.

“Most teams go into the game with something they are determined about, that they are 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 and play Wisconsin and they have nine guys in the box, we’re still going to run the ball because that’s what we’re committed to.”

LSU heads to Kyle Field to take on Texas A&M in one of the biggest games of the weekend. Additionally, the Fighting Irish are set to take on undefeated Navy, and Penn State will travel to Camp Randall to take on a powerful Wisconsin team.

How to watch Penn State vs. Wisconsin:

• When: Saturday October 26
• Where: Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin
• Time: 7:30 PM ET (Pregame coverage begins at 7:00 PM 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 freshman year. At Onward State, Mitch is an associate editor and has covered several varsity sports, including football and men’s volleyball, since the spring of 2024.