James Franklin and Drew Allar both warrant blame for the Penn State woes, but one deserves much more criticism than the other in 2025

Who should Penn State fans blame? 

Whenever things don’t go a program’s way, there are two people that are going to receive a bulk of the blame: The quarterback and the head coach. Sometimes that type of blame is unfair, but in this case, both deserve their fair share of blame. The question is, who is more to blame? 

For quarterback Drew Allar, there has been a lot of hype over the last couple of seasons, but he has mostly plateaued as a football player. Possessing a very nice frame at 6-5 and 235 pounds with a strong arm, there seems to be a lot more upside to tap into, yet Allar has seemingly regressed so far in 2025. It has been one of most puzzling developmental tracks for any player in college football. 

In the past, the excuses have typically centered around everything that Penn State doesn’t have. This offseason, it was the wide receiver group to blame. There has rarely been a mention that Allar has played behind an outstanding offensive line the last two years, had one of the best running back duos in the country, and had an All-American at tight end in 2024. Still, it was always about what Allar didn’t have. 

So this offseason, Penn State changed that. They attacked the Transfer Portal hard a couple of months ago, gaining commitments from Trebor Pena (Syracuse), Kyron Hudson (USC), and Devonte Ross (Troy). Between those three, they combined for 198 receptions for 2,446 yards and 23 touchdowns last season. Despite those improved targets, Allar has underwhelmed in a big way.

While Allar deserves a bulk of the criticism, this conversation begins and ends with head coach James Franklin. Allar has had a troubling three-year sample size for Penn State, but the issues with Franklin have been for a dozen years. A 1-15 overall record against Top-5 ranked teams is unacceptable. As is his 4-21 record against Top-10 teams, and losing record against ranked opponents. 

There have been a lot of frustrating moments during Franklin’s tenure. We have seen underwhelming players and coordinators, and a lot of talk of change and passing blame. In the end, there is one common denominator, Franklin.