Drew Allar’s Interception Seals Another Penn State Loss Against A Top Opponent

Even before the College Football Playoff began last December, Drew Allar announced he would return to Penn State. Allar, the top quarterback in the high school class of 2022, had shown signs of that potential in two seasons as a college starter. Still, he was inconsistent and felt he needed another season with the Nittany Lions to improve his NFL draft stock and achieve his college goals.

On Saturday night, Allar once again came up short against a top opponent, as he threw an interception on Penn State’s first play in the second overtime, clinching the No. 3 Nittany Lions’ 30-24 loss to No. 6 Oregon in the annual “White Out” game where nearly everyone in the stadium of more than 111,000 fans wore white.

Allar went 14 of 25 for 137 yards, two touchdowns and interception. And even though he led two scoring drives in the fourth quarter and another in the first overtime, he made another crucial mistake, as Oregon defensive back Dillon Thieneman stepped in front of Allar’s pass to secure the Ducks’ victory.

Allar is now 0-6 in starts against teams ranked in the top six of the Associated Press poll. In those games, Allar has completed just 50% of his passes with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He has made some major mistakes, including in the CFP semifinals in January against Notre Dame when he threw an interception with 33 seconds remaining in a tie game. Mitch Jeter then made a 41-yard field goal to give the Fighting Irish a 27-24 victory and Penn State another crushing loss.

Penn State coach James Franklin, meanwhile, fell to 4-21 against AP top 10 opponents since he arrived in 2014. During the 2016 season, the Nittany Lions defeated No. 2 Ohio State in the regular season and No. 3 Wisconsin to win the Big Ten conference title. But since then, their only top 10 wins are against No. 7 Utah in the 2023 Rose Bowl and No. 8 Boise State in last season’s CFP quarterfinals.

On Saturday, Penn State had another chance to get a major victory, and it nearly made an unlikely comeback.

Late in the third quarter, after Allar threw incomplete on third down, the crowd booed him. On the next possession, Oregon freshman running back Jordon Davison scored on fourth and 1 from the 8-yard line, giving the Ducks a 17-3 lead with 12:25 remaining.

Allar got Penn State back in the game, throwing a 35-yard touchdown to Devonte Ross, a transfer from Troy University, to cut the deficit to 17-10. Allar also ran for a first down on fourth and one with less than three minutes left. Four plays later, Ross scored again on a shovel pass from Allar to tie the game and send it to overtime.

In the first overtime, Penn State running back Kaytron Allen scored on a four-yard touchdown, putting the Nittany Lions ahead 24-17. On the next possession, Oregon had a fourth and one on the 5-yard line, but quarterback Dante Moore ran for three yards and then completed a shovel pass to tight end Jamari Johnson for a touchdown.

In the second overtime, Oregon had possession first and scored on its opening play, as Moore threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Gary Bryant Jr. Allar then threw his interception, silencing the home crowd and setting off a celebration on the Oregon sideline.

“Unbelievable job, man, of our guys keeping their composure,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning told NBC Sports sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen after the game. “We said this game was going to be about 1,000 cuts. Every cut matters. Every cut matters. Eventually, we hit the jugular….Unbelievable focus. Our quarterback is an absolute All-Star. Our team is special, man. It’s special.”

Moore went 29 of 39 for 248 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, while the Ducks gained 176 yards on 39 carries (4.5 yards per rush). Moore was a five-star quarterback in the high school class of 2023 and originally committed to Oregon before eventually signing with UCLA, where he appeared in nine games as a freshman, throwing for 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Moore transferred to Oregon last season and played behind starter Dillon Gabriel before taking over the job this season.

Oregon was undefeated and the CFP’s No. 1 seed last season, but the Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the quarterfinals. After Saturday’s victory, Oregon looks like it will once again be in contention for the CFP. The Ducks have a week off and then host No. 11 Indiana on Oct. 11. They have yet to lose a Big Ten game since joining the conference last season.

Penn State, meanwhile, still has an opportunity to show it is among the nation’s top teams, as the Nittany Lions play at No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 1 and host Indiana a week later. For Allar and Franklin, in particular, those games provide a chance for them to change the narrative, which may be of little solace for now following another devastating loss Saturday night.