Beau Pribula or Drew Allar: What each QB brings to Penn State's offense

The footage from just after halftime of Penn State's game against Wisconsin last Saturday night captured quarterback Drew Allar throwing a pass and then shaking his head. Allar, who exited during the second quarter, reappeared from the locker room wearing a brace on his left knee but never seemed comfortable during an accelerated warmup before the second-half kickoff. He threw a pass, turned to a member of the Nittany Lions' coaching staff and shook his head in frustration. No matter how many times Allar flexed his knee on the sideline, desperately attempting to work out the kinks, the discomfort refused to subside.

With Allar unable to play, the offense was entrusted to backup quarterback Beau Pribula, a redshirt sophomore entering the most pressure-packed environment of his career. Not only had Pribula never logged more than 22 snaps in a game against a power-conference opponent — and he hadn't exceeded eight snaps against Big Ten opposition this season — but the Nittany Lions were also trailing, 10-7, in a difficult road environment at Camp Randall Stadium. They couldn't afford a loss to an unranked opponent the week before hosting No. 4 Ohio State in a game that will likely carry significant College Football Playoff ramifications.

Pribula delivered by completing 11 of 13 passes for 98 yards and one score while leading Penn State to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives. That became the central storyline in a comeback victory that extended the Nittany Lions' unblemished record to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten ahead of Saturday's highly anticipated visit from the Buckeyes (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). And with Allar's status for the weekend still uncertain after head coach James Franklin described