WR Omari Evans made perhaps the biggest catch of his Penn State career this past Saturday.
With 30 seconds left in the first half, Penn State faced a 2nd and 10 from its 27 up 10-6.
Many thought the team would simply play out the rest of the half and go into the locker room with the lead.
OC Andy Kotelnicki has other ideas. QB Drew Allar chucked a deep ball to Evans, which Evans caught for a 55-yard gain. That drive ended with a TD pass from Allar to Harrison Wallace III, and Penn State now led by two scores going into the half. It ended up cruising to a 34-12 win.
Some felt Evans’ catch should have been negated by an offensive pass interference penalty.
West Virginia coach Neal Brown was one of them.
Brown felt should it should have been offensive pass interference, although he also felt his defender was “didn’t play in his correct coverage lane.”
“I thought it was offensive PI on the big play,” he said, “and after watching on film, I think no question about it. It was offensive PI. Anytime you have two hands and you push it… Aubrey (Burke) got into him first, but there was two hands extension and that’s the definition of offensive pass interference.”
Drew Allar DEEEEEP to Omari Evans 🎯@PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/G2ZJf2fqQq
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024
Four days after the game, Evans was asked whether or not it should have been OPI.
“I didn’t push off,” Evans said. “People said I did, but I didn’t even push him. I just tried to get some space, because he was holding me. So I had to make room for me to go up and get it.”
PI or no PI, Penn State went 1-0 last week and will look to do the same this Saturday in the team’s home opener against Bowling Green scheduled for noon on the Big Ten Network.
