Drew Allar Reportedly Expected to Start for PSU vs. OSU Despite Leg Injury

There is good news for Penn State regarding Drew Allar's leg injury going into Saturday's huge showdown with Ohio State.

Per Pete Nakos of On3.com, the junior quarterback is expected to start for the Nittany Lions after sitting out the second half of last week's victory over Wisconsin.

Nakos noted Allar has been on track to play throughout the week, but he was sharing reps with Beau Pribula during practices in the event he was unable to go.

The injury occurred during Penn State's final offensive possession of the first half. Allar went back to the locker room before his teammates and was on the sidelines wearing a brace on his knee.

Penn State was trailing 10-7 at the time of the injury. After the two teams traded punts on the first three possessions to open the second half, the Nittany Lions got some much-needed momentum on Jaylen Reed's 19-yard pick-six off Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke.

Pribula led Penn State on back-to-back touchdown drives on its next two offensive possessions to seal a 28-13 victory.

Allar was getting work in on the practice field Wednesday during the portion open to the media.

Head coach James Franklin was coy when discussing Allar's status after that practice session.

"At this stage, no new information for you guys," Franklin told reporters. "But so far, so good. Getting both Beau and Drew a ton of reps in practice."

Allar is off to the best start of his career this season. He has thrown for 1,640 yards, 12 touchdowns and has a 71.3 completion percentage in seven games.

Saturday will be the biggest test of the season for the Nittany Lions so far. Ohio State is the fourth-ranked team in the nation, but has struggled in its past two games with a one-point loss to Oregon and a narrow 21-17 win over Nebraska last week.

Penn State (7-0) is currently ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll, its highest ranking since October 2017 (No. 2). That season also saw the Nittany Lions start 7-0 before losing back-to-back games against Ohio State and Michigan State.

Franklin is 1-9 in his coaching career against Ohio State, including an 0-5 mark since Ryan Day took over as Buckeyes head coach in 2018. His lone victory was in October 2016 in the famous Block Six game when Grant Haley returned a blocked field goal 71 yards for a touchdown late and a 24-21 lead late in the fourth quarter.

Ohio State and Penn State will kickoff from Beaver Stadium at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday.