Penn State’s all-time leading rusher is suddenly on the move again.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday afternoon that the Washington Commanders have waived Kaytron Allen, cutting ties with the rookie back in the middle of his first NFL season.
That news lands a little hard for Penn State fans, because Allen’s college résumé already carries serious weight. He left Happy Valley as the program’s career rushing leader, and he did it while sharing the backfield with Nicholas Singleton. His final season at Penn State was the best statistical year of his career, with 1,303 yards, 15 touchdowns and a 6.2 yards-per-carry average.
What made that run stand out even more was the way Allen finished. Penn State’s season, which opened with national title hopes, fell apart midway through, but Allen didn’t coast through the stretch. He got stronger as the year wore on and topped 100 yards in each of the final six games.
The Commanders took him in the sixth round of this year’s draft, and he earned a spot on the roster out of training camp. Allen then played in Washington’s first four games, rushing 12 times for 41 yards.
He’s only 23, which leaves plenty of runway for what comes next.
His departure comes at a time when Penn State could use a player like him. The Nittany Lions are 3-2 and have dropped both of their Big Ten games. The offense has struggled to find any rhythm on the ground or through the air, averaging just 2.2 yards per carry against Northwestern and also coming up short in the passing game through those two conference contests.
Penn State’s annual White Out Game is set for this weekend against USC, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 on NBC.
In Other News...
Arizona Coach Just Framed WVUs Defensive Collapse Perfectly
Arizona left Morgantown with a 52-31 win over West Virginia, but the tone afterward from Brent Brennan was less about celebration and more about respect for what his team had to navigate. The Arizona coach credited the Mountaineers for their effort and singled out their quarterback while also pointing to the defensive moments that swung the game, including five fourth-down stops and two turnovers that helped the Wildcats keep control.
Brennan also pointed to Isaiah Mizell as one of the players who helped make the difference, while explaining how Arizona approached West Virginias defense and pressure throughout the night. For the Mountaineers, it was the kind of loss that leaves plenty to sort through, because the final score reflected not just Arizonas execution but the specific ways the Wildcats were able to answer the challenges West Virginia presented. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Let A Winnable Game Slip Away Before Fighting Back
West Virginia had chances to settle into the game early against Arizona, and for stretches it looked like the Mountaineers were in position to make it a clean afternoon. The opening quarters were shaped by a steady back-and-forth of first downs, touchdowns, penalties and turnovers, with both offenses finding some rhythm while the defense tried to keep the game from tilting too far in either direction.
What made the matchup feel so tense was how quickly the momentum kept shifting, especially as the win-probability numbers moved with each key play. WVU allowed a winnable game to drift away at points, but the response never disappeared completely, and the second-quarter sequence showed enough fight to keep the result from feeling settled too soon. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas States Big 12 Path Looks Tougher After A Brutal Week
Week 6 in the Big 12 brought a little clarity and a lot of trouble for teams trying to sort out the league race, and West Virginia was right in the middle of the mess. BYU kept rolling with a win over Iowa State, Arizona put up 52 points against the Mountaineers, and Houston turned in a decisive victory over Kansas State, a result that stood out even in a week full of lopsided scores. Around the conference, standout showings from Bear Bachmeier, Noah Fifita and Connor Weigman helped shape a Saturday that kept reshuffling the standings and the conversation.
For West Virginia, the Arizona game was another reminder of how quickly things can get away from a team when the other side is clicking. The Mountaineers had to absorb one of the weeks most eye-catching offensive outputs while the rest of the league continued to pile up results that could matter later in the season. In a conference where every loss seems to carry extra weight, the questions now are less about what went wrong in one afternoon and more about how WVU responds to a stretch that is already starting to separate contenders from the rest. [Read more 🡒]