The latest as the Ohio State Game approaches

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar practiced Wednesday but remains a game-time decision for Saturday’s game against Ohio State. Nittany Lions coach James Franklin told reporters Wednesday after practice at State College that he had “no new information” on Allar’s status for the top-5 match at Beaver Stadium.

“No new information at this stage, … but so far so good and (we’re) getting both Beau (Pribula) and Drew a lot of reps in practice,” Franklin said.

Penn State will honor the public nomination of its starting quarterback until playing time against the fourth-ranked Buckeyes. Allar, injured Penn State’s 28-13 win at Wisconsinthrew as part of Wednesday’s practice portion that was open to the media. Franklin said most of the practice reps went to Allar and Pribula this week.

Earlier this week, Franklin said Allar’s experience as a two-year starter would give the coaching staff more time to determine if the starting quarterback can play Saturday. Allar was wearing a knee brace on the sideline during the second half against Wisconsin when Pribula led two touchdown drives.

“I think he’s played enough football for us, that timeline actually goes all the way to the game,” Franklin said of Allar. “…But the reality is we have to have both guys ready.”

Elsewhere, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, who started all seven games this season, was not seen by reporters during the viewing window. Dennis-Sutton was also injured in the first half against Wisconsin, made one play in the second half and did not return. He is a key player on the Nittany Lions defensive line, with four tackles for loss, two sacks and two quarterback hurries this season.

Penn State is also trying to get right tackle Anthony Donkoh healthy in time for Saturday’s game. Donkoh, injured in Wisconsin, relinquished to Nolan Rucciwho played a season-high 49 snaps against his former team.

Looking for more from the second leg

Penn State, whose average starting field position is the 26-yard line, wants to increase that number. The problem is that the second leg didn’t yield much. The Nittany Lions have just nine kickoff returns in seven games, so they want to generate yards in punt returns. But they also want to continue to secure the catch first.

Cornerback Zion Tracy has taken over the punt-return spot following receiver Kaden Saunders’ injury, collecting 14 yards on six returns. He had an 18-yard return called back against Wisconsin because his knee was down.

“We had some musical chairs there trying to find the guy,” Franklin said. “Zion has done good things, (Liam) Clifford has done good things. … You’d like to play more of those shots and be more aggressive, but the biggest thing is we haven’t turned the ball over in that category. Check that box , great, now we have to take the next step and be able to catch and send more of that back.”

Penn State’s Top 5 History

Saturday’s game is the 12th in Penn State history between top-5 teams. Penn State is 4-7 in those previous games. The last was in 2021, when No. 3 Iowa defeated the fourth-seeded Nittany Lions 23-20 in Iowa City. Penn State’s last win in a top-5 game came in 1999, when the No. 3 Nittany Lions defeated No. 4 Arizona 41-7 to open the season. Penn State and Ohio State have faced each other once as top-5 opponents. No. No. 3 Ohio State won the 1996 meeting over No. 4 Penn State 38-7.

Penn State hosts Ohio State on Saturday at noon ET on FOX.

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