Penn State invested a ton of money around Drew Allar, and early returns suggest the fans may have been blaming the wrong thing

The Penn State Nittany Lions entered the 2025 college football season with massive expectations and national championship hopes under head coach James Franklin. A lot of those hopes centered around standout quarterback Drew Allar, who has had some flashy moments in his career as the starter, but more consistency was needed. 

Over the last couple of years, we have heard a lot about what Allar doesn’t have. Instead of talking about the Nittany Lions having one of the very best offensive lines in college football, an All-American tight end, and one of the dynamic running back duos in the country, the conversation has been steady around the lack of wide receiver play. 

So what did the Penn State program do this past offseason? They attacked the Transfer Portal hard and brought in three veteran wide receivers to strengthen the room. That includes Trebor Pena (Syracuse), Kyron Hudson (USC), and Devonte Ross (Troy). Surely the excuse would stop, right? Right? 

Through three games, the improvements that everyone was promised with Allar have not been realized. In fact, when you dive deeper into the numbers, Allar has actually been worse than a year ago against underwhelming competition. The lack of progress has been a bit worrisome. 

If you flash back to the 2024 season, Allar managed to complete 41 of 58 passes for 729 yards and eight touchdowns in the first three games against West Virginia, Bowling Green, and Kent State. He also completed nearly 71 percent of his passes, while throwing just one interception, and rushing for 77 yards on 18 carries. 

In the team’s first three games this season against Nevada, FIU, and Villanova, Allar has completed 57 of 88 passes for 626 yards and four touchdowns. Allar also threw one interception while rushing for 27 yards on 10 carries. That is a schedule that didn’t include a Power Four team compared to the previous season either. 

While it is just a three-game sample size to go off of, struggling like Allar has should be concerning to the entire fanbase. Compared to the same sample last season, the 6-5, 235-pound passer managed to throw for less yards, less touchdowns, a lower completion percentage, and was less of a running threat despite throwing 30 more passes. Billed as a potential first round selection and Heisman Trophy candidate, this has been an ugly start to his senior year. 

Perhaps, the issue has always been with Allar. While some have constantly made excuses for him, his play hasn’t improved despite having so much talent around him, and a really good offensive coordinator in Andy Kotelnicki for a second year. Allar is going to have to start actualizing his talent into on-field production, or else there could be a lot of talent wasted this season.

For the Allar apologists, you may have to get your next excuse ready. There has certainly been no sign that things are getting much better behind center, or better at all.