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    • Penn State beats Wisconsin and has quarterback concerns ahead of Ohio State
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    Penn State beats Wisconsin and has quarterback concerns ahead of Ohio State

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    There were surprises and major developments in Week 9 of the college football season. Matt Hayes analyzes four hot topics from Saturday’s matches.

    First Down: Penn State’s big uncertainty in a B1G week

    His name is Beau Pribula, and he arrived at Penn State in the same recruiting class as heralded five-star quarterback recruit Drew Allar.

    Now Pribula could be called in to save Penn State’s season.

    Allar, Penn State’s rising junior quarterback, injured his left knee late in the first half of a 28-13 win at Wisconsin Saturday, and his status is undetermined for next week’s crucial showdown with No. 4 Ohio State in Happy Valley. While Pribula played well against the Badgers, the top five matchup against Ohio State is a different story.

    Penn State coach James Franklin would not speculate on the extent of the injury, saying he had no details. Allar spent the second half of the match on the sidelines, with a brace on his left knee.

    “It really came down to Drew when he came out,” Franklin said in his post-game press conference. “I asked him to be very honest, and he just didn’t feel like he (was able to play). As you saw at the end of the half, even throwing was a challenge.”

    That’s not a good sign heading into the biggest game of the regular season, especially considering Franklin’s Penn State record in big games.

    Penn State is 1-9 vs. Ohio State under Franklin, and 3-17 vs. top 10 teams. While Penn State likely doesn’t need to win to advance to the College Football Playoff, a loss to Ohio State will significantly damage its hopes of playing for the Big Ten championship.

    That’s why the potential loss of Allar is so crucial. Penn State has figured out a way to beat Wisconsin, but direct attacks on Kaytron Allen or Tyler Warren won’t work against Ohio State’s elite defense.

    At some point, Pribula, who was not rated nationally by 247Sports in the class of 2022 (Allar was the No. 3 overall player at any position), will have to play in the passing game. That means new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, the heralded addition this season out of Kansas, will have a week to figure out what works for Pribula — and how to attack an Ohio State defense that allows 12.7 points per game must give up.

    Even if Allar is available, he will certainly be limited. He was not left out of the second half as a precaution; the Lions trailed 10-7.

    Kotelnicki will have to get a quarterback (or both) ready to play against a top 10 pass defense that is giving up 172 yards per game. The Buckeyes held Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola to 152 yards rushing in a 21-17 victory Saturday with no touchdowns and an interception.

    HEIGHT AND LOW: Week 9 winners and losers in college football

    Second down: Texas on the SEC road

    Texas learned a valuable lesson in its first season in the SEC and in its first real conference road game: Just walk out with a win — no matter how it happens.

    Especially if you’re in the hunt for a spot in the SEC championship game.

    Texas responded to last week’s embarrassing loss to Georgia by avoiding a disastrous second loss in the SEC, holding off Vanderbilt 27-24 with a crucial fourth-down stop with five minutes to play.

    Texas will soon find out that these are the games that help you win a conference championship: the games you are supposed to win, despite the dangerous reality of playing on the road in the SEC.

    The Longhorns have two SEC road games remaining: Nov. 16 at Arkansas and Nov. 30 in the regular-season finale at Texas A&M.

    This time, against a great Vanderbilt team that defeated Alabama in Nashville earlier this month, quarterback Quinn Ewers threw two interceptions that Vanderbilt converted into 14 points. It also looked awkward on both sides of the ball for Texas for much of the game.

    But every time the Longhorns needed a play in the crucial fourth quarter, they made it.

    A five-and-out defensive stop after the Commodores closed at 24-17. An interception on fourth-and-2 from the Vanderbilt 35 late in the fourth, and a 23-yard run by Jaydon Blue on third-and-9 that allowed the offense to bleed two more minutes off the clock before a short field goal sealed the victory.

    Those are the handful of important, but overlooked plays that happen every week on the road in the SEC. This is how you overcome two interceptions by your quarterback and a scoreless period of more than twenty minutes in the second half.

    And how to win and progress toward reaching the SEC championship game.

    Third Down: The rise of Notre Dame, Riley Leonard

    It’s not about hitting rock bottom, it’s about how you respond.

    Welcome everyone to the evolution of Riley Leonard at Notre Dame.

    He called Notre Dame’s home loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2 a low point — and responded with the best stretch of games of his career. This time it was undefeated Navy, and Leonard threw for 178 yards and 2 TDs, and ran for 83 yards and another touchdown in a 51-14 win.

    That marks six straight wins for the Irish since the loss to NIU, with a combined average of 31.3 points per game. In those six games, Leonard completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and accounted for 18 TDs (10 rushing).

    And while there are a number of reasons why the ball isn’t going downfield more often in the passing game — inconsistency at receiver, protection by the offensive line, Leonard’s development with new offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock — the explosions are starting to come.

    Notre Dame had five explosion plays (over 10 yards) against Navy, a week after getting nine against Georgia Tech. The passing game is evolving at the right time, with Notre Dame likely needing a win to reach the CFP for the first time since 2020.

    A loss in any of the final four games – Florida State, Virginia, Army (Yankee Stadium), in Southern California – against overmatched opponents would be too much to overcome.

    Fourth down: Indiana’s backup plan

    He left Indiana State three years ago, a blue-chip recruit who was too good for the floundering Indiana program with big dreams of playing big at Tennessee.

    But there was Tayven Jackson on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington, Indiana, less than an hour southwest of the state where he played high school football in Greenwood, and the big time was all around him.

    A packed Memorial Stadium. An important Big Ten game as a ranked team. The biggest moment of his college career.

    The Hoosiers’ backup quarterback threw for a touchdown and ran for another, keeping undefeated Indiana headed to the College Football Playoff in a 31-17 win over Washington.

    First-year Indiana coach Curt Cignetti signed Ohio transfer and Heisman Trophy candidate Kurtis Rourke from the portal, in part because Indiana’s quarterback room needed an upgrade. Also present in that existing room from last season was Jackson, the one-time heralded recruit who split time in 2023 in his first season after transferring from Tennessee.

    With Rourke recovering from thumb surgery, Jackson played efficiently, didn’t put the Hoosiers in problematic situations with poor play and proved he could be a reliable option if Rourke — who is expected to return to Michigan State next week — needs more time to recover. restore.

    “He made some good plays,” Cignett said in his post-game press conference. “He left as many plays as there are.”

    In other words, Indiana will need more next week if Rourke can’t play, or if Jackson is needed in the month of November when the difficulty increases over the final four games (at Michigan State, Michigan, at Ohio State, Purdue).

    But it’s all for the Hoosiers, who can only lose to Ohio State and likely still make the first 12-team CFP.

    Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X @MattHayesCFB.

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