The world of college football sees more and more players and coaches taking alternate routes on their respective journeys, and sometimes those paths find a way to cross one more time. This was the case on Saturday in Beaver Stadium as Penn State hosted Bowling Green for a non-conference matchup.
Following a 34-27 victory over the Falcons, Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen made sure to catch up with Bowling Green quarterback Connor Bazelak. Bazelak was a quarterback for Allen during their time together at Indiana.
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The embrace between the former head coach and quarterback is a reminder of the importance and value of relationships built in the sport of college football. Allen recruited Bazelak to Indiana from Missouri out of the transfer portal in 2022 and he was a part of Allen’s program in Bloomington for two seasons. The results may not have panned out the way each would have hoped, of course. Indiana removed Allen as head coach following the 2023 season and Bazelak decided to transfer once again to Bowling Green following the coaching change with Indiana.
Bazelak must have been frustrating his former head coach at Indiana in the first half. Bazelak was slicing up the Penn State defense for much of the first half of the game as Bowling Green opened up a 17-7 lead and took a 24-20 lead into halftime. Fortunately for Penn State, Allen had his defense ready to make some stops and big plays in the second half.
Bowling Green was held to just a late field goal in the second half as Penn State’s defense picked off Bazelak twice in the fourth quarter en route to a 34-27 victory in the home opener.
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