The Penn State Nittany Lions were locked in a battle with the Boise State Broncos in the College Football Playoffs quarterfinals. At stake: a berth in the semifinals and the Orange Bowl.
However, up 14-0, star defensive end Abdul Carter was seen leaving the field after what appeared to be a non-contact play.
What Happened to Abdul Carter?
Carter, a likely top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, does just about everything for the Penn State defense. He suffered an apparent arm injury at some point during the second quarter against the Broncos.
And without Carter on the field, Boise State scored their first points of the game.
Pinpointing where the injury happened, however, is much more difficult than it seems. That’s because on the play that he came off the field, it’s clear that he was in some pain before the play even began.
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The broadcast didn’t quite catch it, as you can see, Carter didn’t go down on the field. But two plays later, sideline reporter Tom Luginbill announced that he had entered the blue medical tent and was receiving treatment on his left arm.
Without a clear indicator as to what happened on the play that he came off the field, we at CFN went back in the game a bit to check out what may have happened.
Carter wasn’t on the field for the three plays prior to the aforementioned play, in which he came off the field, but he was on the field during Boise State’s last play of their first drive of the second quarter.
And it’s clear that this is where the injury happened:
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At the top of the screen, on the defensive line, it’s Carter who gets tripped up by a Boise State offensive lineman and then landed on by another. All the body weight of the Boise State lineman landing directly on Carter’s left shoulder.
As more updates are available, CFN will stay on top of Carter’s latest status. As of the time of publishing, Carter did not return for any of the next defensive snaps for Penn State.
In fact, he was seen riding the stationary bike on the sidelines during one broadcast clip.
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