The college football season will be going on for another two months as the national championship will conclude the season in late January, but the regular season is almost over. It feels like everything just got started, but there are only two more weeks left before conference championship week. The intensity is ramping up all around the country, and once again, we have numerous games that will have big College Football Playoff implications. One sneaky good matchup will feature Drew Allar and the Penn State football team hitting the road to play Minnesota.
Penn State is currently sitting at 9-1 and they are ranked #4 in the country. They are expected to fairly easily cruise to an 11-1 record, and that would get them into the College Football Playoff. However, Minnesota is quietly one of the better teams in the Big Ten, and this one has trap game written all over it.
Before we talk more about Drew Allar and predictions for this game, let’s take a deeper look at both of these teams.
Minnesota might be the fifth best team in the Big Ten
The Minnesota football team is currently sitting at 6-4 overall on the year and they are 4-3 in Big Ten play. The Golden Gophers are tied for fifth place in the conference, and they are a better team than people give them credit for.
What’s frustrating for Minnesota fans is that this team could very easily be 9-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play. Minnesota completely let one slip away in week one at home against North Carolina, they probably beat Michigan if they don’t have a disastrous barrage of turnovers in the second quarter, and they had a fourth quarter lead against Rutgers before falling apart.
The point is, this Minnesota team is good enough to be 9-1. This season could very easily look a lot different. Penn State has to treat them like a team that is 9-1.
Penn State is close to their first playoff appearance
The Penn State football team has never made it to the College Football Playoff, but they are close to making their first appearance this season. The Nittany Lions just need to close out these final two games, and there won’t be any doubt.
Penn State obviously plays Minnesota this weekend, and they are expected to win this one. Then, they will conclude the season against Maryland at home. The Nittany Lions will be heavy favorites in that one.
Right now, the Nittany Lions are only thinking about Saturday. If they want to win, they need their quarterback, Drew Allar, to play a clean game. Here are three predictions for his performance.
Minnesota will hold Drew Allar under 150 passing yards
It’s going to be cold on Saturday and Drew Allar will be on the road, so those two things won’t be helping the Penn State football team out a lot. The Nittany Lions will likely want to lean on their ground game often, and Allar will probably have a quiet game because of that.
Drew Allar will throw one touchdown pass
Penn State will likely find the end zone a few times on Saturday, but don’t be surprised if this is a low-scoring, close slugfest. When the Nittany Lions do score, there’s a good chance it’ll be on the ground, but Drew Allar will throw one touchdown pass.
Drew Allar and Penn State will win 24-20
This one is going to be a lot closer than Penn State football fans will like, but Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions will survive. Minnesota is a solid team and they will be at home. They will give Penn State a good fight. Nittany Lions win 24-20.
Penn State and Minnesota will kick off at 3:30 ET on Saturday from Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, and the game will be airing on CBS. The Nittany Lions are currently favored by 11.5 points.
Week 13 college football preview
Penn State-Minnesota is a big one, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg this weekend. There are a ton of marquee matchups, and it’s going to be a fun weekend of college football.
ESPN’s College GameDay will be headed to Columbus for this huge top-five matchup. It was an easy choice for the show that goes to the biggest game of the week as this is essentially a Big Ten title play-in game.
In the ACC, the team to watch this weekend is Miami as they look to avoid a second conference loss. They will be hosting Wake Forest. Clemson also has just one conference loss, but they have two non-conference games to end the season.
Moving over to the Big 12, there are two big games this weekend. Colorado and Kansas will squaring off in Kansas City, and another massive one will be taking place in Tempe. Two-loss Arizona State is trying to find a way into the conference title game, and they will be hosting #14 BYU this weekend. A win would be huge for the Sun Devils.
In the Big Ten, the Ohio State-Indiana matchup is huge, but Penn State-Minnesota is definitely one that fans will want to keep an eye on. Outside of those two games, it’s a pretty quiet weekend.
There aren’t a lot of big games in the SEC this weekend as its the annual November cupcake week down south, but Ole Miss could have a tricky test on the road against a Florida team that just knocked off LSU. That looks like the best matchup of the weekend in the SEC.
Outside of the power four, undefeated Army will hit the road to take on 9-1 Notre Dame. That is a game that you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on.
With just two weeks remaining, things are getting intense. Enjoy another crucial week of what has been a fun college football season.
The post Drew Allar bold predictions for Penn State-Minnesota Big Ten battle appeared first on ClutchPoints.
