STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Yesterday, the media was invited back to State College to speak with a few members of the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff for the first time since the Blue/White game in mid-April. During the press conference, head coach James Franklin was asked about the unresolved QB situation, which was last discussed during his previous media appearance. His response was straightforward: there is currently no designated Penn State football starting quarterback.

Penn State football starting quarterback yet to be named ahead of summer ball

This fall, the Blue and White will have a new quarterback for the first time since 2018. For the past four years, Sean Clifford, the Lions’ former 6th-year QB, was assumed to be the Penn State football starting quarterback ahead of all four seasons.

Throughout the offseason, the competition has been primarily between two individuals: Drew Allar and Beau Pribula, both entering their second season with the Nittany Lions. However, head coach James Franklin emphasizes that the starting quarterback position for Penn State football is still up for grabs as the team heads into summer ball.

“I think really every year it’s the same philosophy,” James Franklin said on Thursday. “I think sometimes it’s assumed, which, I get it, but it’s competition at every position. A lot of things can happen between now and the season; even when Sean Clifford was here … he was competing for the starting job every single year. If he would get beat out, that was his problem, not mine.

“We have competition at every single position every single year, returning starter or not,” Franklin continued. “I think that’s the right thing to do — not only for our entire program, but I also think for the starter.”

Drew Allar is expected to take over despite the decision pending

While James Franklin is yet to name a starting quarterback for the 2023 season, it is widely assumed that former five-star prospect Drew Allar, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 class, will secure the position and become the starting quarterback for Penn State football.

Blue and White fans have been eagerly anticipating the start of the Allar era in Happy Valley for years. If everything goes as expected, fans won’t have to wait much longer, as the Nittany Lions will kick off their 2023 season against West Virginia in just 85 days.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!

Today, we continue our series of the best Penn State football wins over 2023 opponents with Iowa. Penn State’s best wins over the Hawkeyes have come at the price of some heartache as well. The two schools met nine times before the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten, with Penn State winning six matchups.

Starting conference play, it seemed the Nittany Lions would continue this advantage, winning four of their first five contests with the Hawkeyes. But then the trouble started. Iowa dominated the series in the early 2000s. Some of the major letdowns include the infamous 6-4 game and a heartbreaking last-second loss in 2008 that cost the Nittany Lions a shot at the national championship.

Since 2011 Penn State has won most of the matchups, but the last contest in 2021 left a bad taste in the mouths of Nittany Lions fans. Penn State will look to cleanse that in this year’s matchup in Happy Valley under the lights of a Beaver Stadium White Out.

However, of all the matchups, there is one game and resulting Nittany Lion victory that stands out in this series. This would be the 2017 contest in Kinnick.

Saquon Barkley was an inhuman force for Penn State football

A game in Kinnick Stadium is never easy. The fans are raucous and sit right on top of the players. The stadium’s design literally puts the stands as close to the sidelines as possible. If it is a night game, then the atmosphere turns up tenfold.

That is precisely what the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions faced in 2017. Both teams entered the contest undefeated, and the Hawkeyes had developed a reputation for upsets. Iowa’s last three home contests against top-five foes all ended in victories. The Hawkeyes looked to make Penn State its latest victim on this late September night.

But Saquon Barkley did his part and then some to ensure the Nittany Lions would be on the winning end. He finished the game with 211 yards on the ground with a touchdown, and added 12 receptions for 94 yards. His standout play of the night was this beauty that has gone down in Penn State football folklore.

It took all 60 minutes to beat Iowa

The game was quite sluggish to start. The teams traded punts through most of the first half, with Penn State converting a field goal, missing another, and getting a safety to lead 5-0 late in the second quarter. Then Trace McSorley would throw an interception, setting up the Hawkeyes deep in Nittany Lion territory. Iowa converted the opportunity into a touchdown to take a 7-5 halftime lead.

The Nittany Lions led 15-7 after three frames. But then the Iowa offense finally woke up. Running back Akrum Wadley scored two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air, giving Iowa a 19-15 lead with just one minute and 42 seconds remaining in the game.

It looked like the Hawkeyes would pull another upset against a top-five foe. That is, until McSorley, Barkley, and the Penn State offense went on one magical final drive. Juwan Johnson’s touchdown catch, the first of his career, silenced the Kinnick crowd as time expired. 

Penn State won and kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive for several more weeks, until back-to-back close losses against Ohio State and Michigan State dashed those dreams. But the Nittany Lions finished the season with an 11-2 record and a win over Washington in the Fiesta Bowl. Despite the season not ending in a playoff berth, the game against Iowa is one Nittany Lion fans still remember fondly.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!