'He’s grown a lot': Penn State QB Drew Allar chasing signature win against Oregon

Drew Allar has accomplished a lot in two-plus years as Penn State’s starting quarterback.

He’s won two College Football Playoff games, played in a Big Ten championship and been one of the most efficient passers in Penn State’s history.

But he has yet to win the biggest games of his career.

Whether it was failing to score a touchdown against Ohio State at home last season, not connecting with a wide receiver in a three-point loss to Notre Dame or throwing a pair of costly interceptions against Oregon in the conference title game, he’s fallen just short each time thus far.

That comes with a lot of scrutiny at Penn State, where the expectation is to win national titles — especially with a loaded roster in 2025.

“I think you can prepare all you want to be the quarterback at Penn State, and I’m not undervaluing the preparation that they need to do to become the starting quarterback at Penn State,” James Franklin said after Wednesday’s practice. “But the reality is, there’s an aspect that, until you’re actually back there and dealing with everything that comes with it, it’s hard to totally prepare for that.”

“It’s kind of like being a head coach. You can prepare and create all the manuals you want,” he said. “Until you’re actually sitting in that chair. It’s different.”

Despite important losses, Allar clearly took a step forward in big moments last season.

He led a second-half comeback and overtime win at USC, and he made some of the best throws of his career while trailing Oregon for the entire Big Ten championship. It was a frantic effort that made the game just a one-score loss by the end.

His vocal leadership earned him a nod as a captain, and he was a noticeably more emotional presence on the field.

Has he grown enough to top the No. 6 Ducks when they travel for the White Out this Saturday? Can he finally get the signature win that has eluded him?

“He has gotten better with (the mental preparation) every single year,” Franklin said. “He’s always lived the position. He’s grown a lot.”

Franklin said Allar spoke to the team this week about the early moments in his career, when he might have been affected by something he saw online and on social media. Franklin said Allar has cut that type of “distraction” out of his life as a senior, and he’s better for it.

We’ll find out if the growth is enough at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in one of college football’s biggest games of the year.

“They understand the opportunity that we have this week,” Franklin said. “Obviously, it’s a little bit different, based on how everybody talks about this game, all the people that will be in town and all the attention of this game is getting nationally. I think our guys, for the most part, they recognize what this is. But it’s been business as usual.”