The Penn State Nittany Lions fell short in the Orange Bowl, losing 27-24 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It was a back-and-forth game, but a late-game interception by Christian Gray ended Penn State’s season. After another loss in a big game, one thing is abundantly clear for James Franklin’s quarterback, he’s not ready for the NFL.
Drew Allar has had a lot of NFL Draft buzz in the past month despite stating he will return in 2025. Some sources even had Allar as 2025’s number-one quarterback. But after this performance, Allar is better off returning to Happy Valley for his senior season.
The Orange Bowl
To say Drew Allar had a bad Orange Bowl would be an understatement. Allar finished 12/23 for 135 yards and an interception with just 17 rush yards on six attempts. The box score doesn’t show the two other interceptions he threw that were called back for defensive penalties.
Allar had accuracy issues all night. He consistently missed open receivers downfield that are routine NFL throws. He also had a major underthrow to Nicholas Singleton that would have been a touchdown, but instead, the Nittany Lions had to settle for three.
Notre Dame picks off Drew Allar late in the fourth 😳 pic.twitter.com/F0SZvM5fFa
— ESPN (@espn) January 10, 2025
This loss caps off an overall underwhelming playoff run for Allar. In three playoff games he had just 433 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.
Drew Allar’s Outlook
Allar has all of the physical tools needed to be a great NFL quarterback. He’s 6’5″, 238 pounds, has a rocket for an arm, and has great mobility for his size. The problem is he is a raw prospect. Allar has yet to put together a season warranting a first-round pick.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Quarterbacks like Joe Burrow and Bo Nix took a long time to develop, but once they did, they flourished.
Now Allar will have to have a breakout season in 2025 to receive a first-round grade, but if his 6,167 yards and 53 career touchdowns are any indication, Allar should be just fine next season. Who knows, this could be the wake-up call Drew Allar needs to be a Heisman contender in 2025.
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