Penn State football lost its star quarterback at the end of the first half.
Drew Allar appeared to injure a knee while being sacked late in the second quarter and walked gingerly to the locker room ahead of his team. He came out to the field in the third quarter wearing a knee brace but did not play when the Nittany Lions took the opening drive of the half.
Central York grad Beau Pribula, instead, led the No. 3 Nittany Lions (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), who trailed the surging Wisconsin Badgers, 10-7, in Camp Randall Stadium.
The Pribula-led offense was forced to punt on its first drive without Allar.
That was before safety Jaylen Reed intercepted a Braedyn Locke pass and returned it for a touchdown midway through the third quarter for a 14-10 lead.
Allar started this game on fire, completing 10 of his first 11 passes with a touchdown. But he and the Lions slowed and struggled through the second quarter before the sack that may have ended his night.
Down, 10-7, late in the second quarter, Allar was sacked on a first-down play. He threw two incompletions after the play and then walked slowly to the sideline with his Lions about to punt.
He then gingerly walked to the locker room with a trainer moments before the first half ended.
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Pribula, a redshirt sophomore, may go the rest of the way tonight in what would be his second extended game action of his career.
He also played most of a victory over Rutgers last November after Allar injured his shoulder.
Pribula has been used mostly as a change-of-pace runner the past two seasons. He completed seven of 10 passes this season coming into tonight with two touchdowns and an interception.
Allar was 14-of-18 passing for 148 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions in the first half tonight.
He was completing over 70 percent of his passes this season with 11 passing touchdowns and four interceptions (three at USC) for 1,492 yards.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
