BWI Live Postgame: Drew Allar shines in first win as Penn State quarterback

Penn State football kicked off the 2023 season and didn’t disappoint. The Nittany Lions defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers on the arm of new starting quarterback Drew Allar. Join the BWI Live Postgame Show to discuss the season-opening win for head coach James Franklin and his team.
We’ll discuss Allar’s 300-plus, multi-touchdown day and how he played in his first start. Join the BWI Live show on YouTube immediately following the game. Subscribe so you don’t miss any live content from BWI.
Penn State leans on young QB in primetime win
Penn State entered halftime up 14-7, but the Nittany Lions drove down into the redzone twice and came away with zero points due to missed field goals from Sander Sahaydak, who lost his job at halftime to transfer kicker Alex Felkins.
Despite the fanfare of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen coming into the game, Allar was the star. The first-time starter showed great poise and vision during his debute, completing over 70% of his passes on the night. Allar finished the game with 325 yards and three touchdowns. But Allar didn’t compile short passes to get his yards. He averaged 15.5 yards per completion, pushing the ball downfield.
On the other hand, the offensive run game played an efficient supporting role against the Mountaineer defense. Allen and Singleton combined for 121 yards and a touchdown on 23 combined carries. The offensive line opened impressive holes and put in a positive effort to start the season.
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Defense gets off to shaky start, rights the ship
The Penn State defense, a highly-touted group of playmakers, got off to a rocky start. The defense only gave up seven points by halftime but gave up 69 yards in the first two quarters. West Virginia was also aggressive on the night, going for five fourth downs during the competitive portion of the game and making two short conversions.
Want to share your reactions to the game? Join the BWI Live Postgame Show to get your opinions or questions on air. We’ll discuss the game and, how Penn State performed and the major storylines coming out of the win in the first week of the 2023 season.
Be sure to check out the rest of our postgame content as well. We’ll have James Franklin’s postgame press conference for you on the show and instant analysis from the Blue White Illustrated crew at Beaver Stadium.