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Drew Allar: Penn State needs to ‘get over that hump’ in big games
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Drew Allar has been through it all across his first 3 seasons at Penn State, but one theme still haunts the program. That would be the performance in big games, and Allar’s numbers have a lot to do with those outcomes.
During the 2023 season, Allar completed less than 50% of his passes in Penn State’s 3 losses. Last season, Allar improved his numbers but did not fully clear the big-game hurdles, completing less than 60% of his passes in the Big Ten Championship Game and every game of the College Football Playoff run.
Against Notre Dame, Allar completed just 52.2% of his passes in the Orange Bowl, and he threw the disastrous interception that sealed the fate of the Nittany Lions. Now entering his senior season, Allar is poised for another big leap, according to James Franklin, and the star quarterback knows the team has to be better against the elite opponents.
“We definitely need to get over that hump,” Allar said during B1G Media Days, per ESPN. “There’s no question about it.”
Overall, Allar pointed out that the Nittany Lions do not regularly get blown out by top teams. Of the 6 losses across the past 2 seasons, only 1 came by double digits. (That would be a bowl loss to Ole Miss after the 2023 campaign.)
Ultimately, it is just about finding execution and “different ways” to finish off those major games:
“We definitely need to find different ways to come out with different results in those games,” said Allar. “We haven’t really been blown out of the water by any team. … It’s just about execution … finding those areas to make one or two more plays throughout those games. … That’s going to be our focus.”
According to DraftKings, Penn State has the 4th-lowest odds in the entire country to win the national title, coming in at +750. One thing is for sure: The Nittany Lions need to do better against elite matchups to get there.
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Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.