Penn State QB Drew Allar gets candid about team's struggles against top opponents

It’s no secret that Penn State has struggled to win large video games below head coach James Franklin.

Whereas the Nittany Lions have completed with double-digit wins in six of the previous 9 seasons, together with a 13-3 season in 2024 that culminated with a loss to Notre Dame within the School Soccer Playoff semifinals, they’ve struggled to beat high quality opponents.

Quarterback Drew Allar, who enters the 2025 season with the fifth-shortest odds (+1600) to win the Heisman Trophy, per FanDuel, was sincere about Penn State’s lack of success throughout his look at Large Ten Media Days on Wednesday.

“We positively must recover from the hump,” Allar stated, per ESPN’s Jake Trotter. “There is not any query about it.”

Penn State is simply 4-20 towards top-10 opponents below Franklin, though the three losses final season had been all by one rating. Allar is 23-6 as a starter, however threw a expensive interception towards Notre Dame that in the end led to the game-winning subject objective from the Preventing Irish. 

With expertise on its aspect and lofty expectations getting into the season because the No. 1-ranked crew in ESPN’s offseason ballot, Allar pointed to higher execution as a key to Penn State’s success.

“We positively want to seek out other ways to come back out with completely different ends in these video games,” Allar stated. “We have not actually been blown out of the water by any crew. … it is nearly execution. … discovering these areas to make one or two extra performs all through these video games. … That is going to be our focus.”

One key for Penn State is the return of its two main rushers from final season, Kaytron Allen (1,108 yards) and Nicholas Singleton (1,099 yards), who mixed for 20 TDs. That have, together with Allar’s improved accuracy (66.5%) and career-high 3,327 passing yards from 2024, offers the Nittany Lions plenty of upside going into 2025.

Allar did have an uptick in interceptions (eight) and was sacked 19 instances final season, that are two regarding areas, particularly towards top-ranked opponents. That should enhance for Penn State to reverse course and eventually win significant video games. 

For now, the main focus is on its lack of success in these video games below Franklin. If Penn State can execute and never beat itself, maybe a kind of video games will ultimately go its manner. Till then, it’ll face the identical questions because it seems to be to place its previous struggles in large video games behind it.